Page 26 of Nidev and Lyric

He added the missing clauses, and everything clicked perfectly into place.

Swinging his gaze to Skul, he tacked on one final law. She would never—fucking ever—thank another man forthinkingof her again.

****

Skul left.

Nidev barely registered it.

He didn’t move, didn’t speak.

He was too busy experiencing the unfolding conditions between him and Lyric. There would be no before and after. No on and off. No beginning or end. No phases. No resets. No breaths between. There would be no moment in which she wasn’t unraveling. No point when she wasn’t breaking, no point he wouldn’t be there breaking her. His control—once measured, once patient—was now gluttonous. Every future moment demanded more. More precision. More ownership. More ways to take her apart.

No, this wasn’t just about keeping her ruined. It was about perfecting the destruction. In stages. Methodical. Ritualistic. A thousand ways to shatter her. A thousand ways to never put her back together. And not a single piece would ever belong to anyone but him.

Lyric reappeared, backpack slung over her shoulder, smile bright, oblivious. His fucking angel.

She moved toward him, stopping short when she caught the shift in his posture. “Everything okay?”

Nidev exhaled slowly. A measured breath. One he barely felt. He was still inside the moment. There was no more need to rush. No need to test or push or correct.

Not yet.

He looked at her. Looked at her soft lips, her bright eyes, her voice still carrying the weight of another man’s name.

Something inside throbbed.

Not his cock. Something deeper.

Something permanent.

“Something’s come up.” His voice was smooth and even. “I need to tend to it.”

Her face flickered, a flash of confusion.

“I’ll text you.”

Lyric hesitated. Then nodded. “Okay.”

****

Lyric’s world had shrunk down to the glowing screen on her lap.

The room didn’t exist. Time didn’t exist. Only the waiting.

She had sent three messages. Nothing. She had checked. Double-checked. Hisreadreceipts burned back at her.

The silence wasn’t silence. It was weight. It was intentional. She felt it curling around her, wrapping inside her breath, slithering through her thoughts. Nidev had left her apartment. His eyes had been dark. Changed. Now he wasn’t speaking.

Was this how he disappeared from people? Was this how he ended things?

Her stomach twisted. Her hands trembled as she typed.

Lyric:Please tell me what’s going on.

She pressed send.

Stared.

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