Former

Chapter 28 - Former

Torin looked down at Leena, who was still standing close to him after checking his arms and chest for injuries. Her hands had only just fallen away, but she still looked tense, as though she hadn't completely convinced herself that he was unharmed.

He noticed the worry in her eyes and allowed himself a faint smile.

“If this is how my secretary worries about me,” he said, keeping his arm loosely around her waist, “I might start getting injured on purpose.”

Leena froze. For a second, she simply stared at him.

Then she pushed him away hard enough to break free and quickly turned her back. She folded her arms, hoping the movement would hide the warmth spreading across her cheeks.

“I wasn't worried about you like that,” she said. “You're my employer. If something happened to you, I'd have to find another job, and I just signed the contract.”

Torin raised an eyebrow. “So that's what this was?”

“Exactly.”

“You ran into a house after hearing someone get hit with a baseball bat because you were worried about your employment?”

Leena turned her head just enough to glare at him. “Don't make it sound ridiculous.”

“I didn't. You did.”

She looked away again, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Can we stop talking about this?”

Torin gave a quiet laugh and picked up the bat from where he had left it against the wall. He looked around the room, and the amusement slowly disappeared from his face.

The house was quiet now. Too quiet.

The furniture was old, several pieces covered in dust, and the air still carried the smell of alcohol and blood. A broken lamp lay near the wall, and one of the curtains hung crooked where someone had pulled it down during the struggle. Dust covered the wooden floor, and years of neglect were visible in almost every corner.

Leena followed his gaze.

“Why did you bring me here in the first place?” she asked. “You said this wasn't a property we were selling.”

“It isn't.”

Torin walked toward the center of the room and looked around as though he were trying to picture something that no longer existed.

“I'm going to renovate it.”

Leena looked at him. “You're serious?”

“I grew up here. I know the place needs work, but the structure is still good. If I repair it properly, it could become a decent home again.”

He ran his fingers over the dusty edge of a wooden table.

“I might move here.”

“With Gia?”

“Maybe.”

He glanced toward her.

“If things between us stay good.”

Leena frowned. “What does that mean?”

Torin was silent for a moment before answering.

“She's changed.”

“People change.”

“She has. Just not in a good way.”

He walked toward one of the windows and looked outside at the quiet street.

“She used to be different with me. Lately, she's distant. She spends more time away from home, keeps her phone hidden, and whenever I ask where she's been, I get a different answer.”

Leena's expression became more serious. “You think she's cheating?”

“I think there's a good chance.”

“With who?”

“I don't know for certain.”

Leena watched him carefully. “Then don't accuse her without proof.”

Torin gave a short, humorless laugh. “I'm not planning to.”

He leaned against the window frame, his eyes still fixed outside.

“People don't suddenly become different people, Leena. Usually, the part of them that was already there just gets more room to show itself.”

She remained silent.

Torin looked down at his hands.

“Look at me. I'm tougher than I used to be. I can walk into a house like this, see someone threatening me, and actually do something about it. But that doesn't mean I'm fearless. When I swung that bat, I still felt the same fear I've always felt. My heart was racing, my hands were tense, and part of me wanted to turn around and leave.”

He looked at her. “I just learned how to move anyway.”

Leena's expression softened.

Torin turned back toward the window.

“Gia's no different. She has always cared about money, status, and what other people think. Now that she's getting attention from people with more power and influence, she's suddenly surrounded by opportunities she never had before.”

He paused. “Her father is a corrupt officer. I've seen enough of him to know exactly what kind of world he comes from. I don't think Gia is immune to it.”

Leena didn't answer immediately. She understood what Torin was saying, but something about the certainty in his voice bothered her.

“You said you think she's cheating,” she said quietly. “Who do you suspect?”

Torin looked back at her. “Maybe cheating is the wrong word. I'm still trying to figure it out.”

“Then who?”

“Ian.”

Leena's eyebrows rose. “Ian?”

“My old classmate.”

She stared at him for a moment before realizing what he meant. “Ian... the commissioner's son?”

Torin nodded.

Leena immediately stepped closer and reached for his hand. Her fingers closed around his, and the sudden gesture caught him off guard.

“Torin, be careful. If you're right about him, this isn't just some ordinary relationship problem. His father has influence, and you don't know how far they might go if they think you're getting in the way.”

Torin looked down at their hands.

Then he looked back at her.

For a moment, he seemed genuinely surprised by her concern. The Leena standing in front of him felt different from the woman who had first walked into his life. She wasn't simply following him because he paid her. Somewhere along the way, she had started caring about what happened to him.

Torin gently squeezed her hand before letting go. “I'll be careful.”

Leena nodded, though she still looked uneasy. Torin checked the time on his phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

“But we don't have time to worry about Gia right now. We have a meeting.”

“With who?”

“Kelly.”

Leena thought for a moment before her expression changed. “Kelly? The woman you told me about?”

“Yes.”

“The member of parliament?”

Torin shook his head. “Not quite. She's the secretary of a member of parliament.”

He paused at the doorway, then glanced back at the house. “Or, I should say, she was.”

Leena repeated the last word quietly as she followed him toward the door.

“Was?”

Torin opened the door and stepped outside.

“Former secretary of a member of parliament.”

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