(The theme of this story is dark)
The young man was standing infront of his window staring at Roselia's house. But now it was pin drop silence.
"Now that I'm thinking about it I heard noises of shouting from somewhere earlier" he spoke to himself, he was kinda worried.
"But it stopped I guess" he thought, he then left from the window and started to do his work again in his laptop
"I don't need to worry about her, she has a husband and it's not like I know her but still my heart and brain is only thinking about her... Her face" the young man spoke to himself and his voice got softened.
Roselia's cat was sleeping on a couch.
And...
In her bedroom, Roselia was on the ground and her left leg was covered by her blood. Looks like it got heavily injured
A heavy box covered in blood was next to her leg
A Rose's one petal got crushed by a box.
Her husband grabbed her by her long hair and threw her on the bed.
He pinned both of her arms by his grip and covered her mouth to make sure that she doesn't scream and he forcefully started to kiss her on her neck
She wasn't able to do anything at that moment she was hopeless, she was in pain...
That wasn't love.
It was marital r*pe
And the night was over
THE NEXT MORNING
The young man from the neighbour house was going somewhere wearing a dark coat rested over a fitted black shirt, the layers blending seamlessly into one another before falling into equally dark trousers.
There was no contrast, no break in color—just a continuous stretch of midnight that gave him a sharp, almost intimidating presence.
His black hair styled in a mullet was shining in the sunlight and his brown eyes showed his character and personality.
A personality of showing gentleness and kindness to everyone.
As he locked the door. He saw Hayuel leaving the house and there were a bunch of aunties outside their house.
A aunty from there called the young man by her hand gesture and he took his steps towards her and stood next to her.
"Hey Ziyan, how are you? You are so busy nowadays, aren't you?" A aunty asked, and a smile showed up on her face
The young man's name was Ziyan.
His name lingered in the air like a quiet echo, simple yet carrying a presence of its own. There was nothing overly grand about it, and yet, it suited him perfectly—as though it had been waiting just for him all along.
"I'm doing good aunty and yeah I'm kinda busy nowadays and what about you? Are you doing good?" Ziyan asked the aunty.
"Yeah I'm doing good aswell. By the way, do you know who shifted in this house?" That aunty asked by pointing towards the Roselia's house
Ziyan looked at the house.
He remembered the moment when he saw the beautiful lady Roselia entering the house. Like the house was only waiting for her beautiful presence.
"Yeah, a married couple" Ziyan answered, the aunties burst into laughter. Ziyan stared at them surprisingly
"Look, Mina I told you na he don't know anything who shifted in this house" a another aunty said laughingly
"Am I wrong? Aren't they couple?" Ziyan asked them, he was awaiting for a answer
"Yeah, you're right—they're a couple. But the guy… apparently he's a billionaire in our country," Mina said, her voice dropping just enough to turn the words into something heavier, something worth reacting to.
Ziyan felt the words hit him like a sudden jolt. His brows knit together, disbelief flashing across his face as he turned toward them, almost too quickly.
"What?!" he blurted, unable to hold it back. "Why would a billionaire live here, anyway…?"
It didn't make sense. Nothing about it did. Their quiet neighbourhood, their ordinary streets—what place did someone like that have here?
Mina only shrugged, but before she could reply, another aunty chimed in, her tone laced with amusement. "Who knows? These days, our neighbourhood is filling up with rich and famous people. First Ziyan… and now, the billionaire—Hayuel."
The name lingered.
"Billionaire… Hayuel?" Ziyan repeated under his breath, the realization dawning slowly. A faint scoff escaped him, half disbelief, half astonishment.
"Damn… I couldn't even recognise him yesterday. It's been so long since I saw him in person…"
The aunties exchanged glances, clearly enjoying the moment.
"Oh, really?" Mina teased, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "But honestly, Hayuel's wife must be so lucky—to have a billionaire like him as her husband."
Laughter erupted almost instantly, light and unrestrained, filling the air.
Everyone laughed—
except Ziyan.
He stood there, silent, his expression no longer matching theirs. The noise around him seemed distant, fading into the background as his thoughts began to spiral inward, pulling him somewhere far from their chatter.
"But you know," another aunty added between chuckles, "people hardly ever see his wife. He keeps her so hidden… like she's some kind of diamond."
More laughter followed, louder this time, echoing through the lane.
But Ziyan didn't join in.
Confusion clouded his mind, the pieces refusing to fit together no matter how hard he tried. A billionaire. A hidden wife. A man he might have already seen—and failed to recognize.
Something about it all felt… off.
"And I'm telling you," Mina continued, still smiling, "our neighbourhood is going to become famous soon. We already have a handsome man like Ziyan… and now a billionaire as well."
The aunties burst into laughter again, their voices overlapping in cheerful chaos.
Yet Ziyan remained still.
His gaze had drifted away from them—drawn, almost unconsciously, toward Roselia's house.
And this time…
he wasn't just looking.
He was thinking.
"Creakkkk..."
The wooden door of Roselia's house creaked open without warning, the sound slicing through the quiet like a whisper of something long-awaited. And then—she stepped out.
For a moment, it felt as if the world itself had paused.
Roselia stood at the threshold, and in that single heartbeat, every gaze turned toward her.
Conversations died mid-sentence, breaths caught, and even the wind seemed to still.
She wore a flowing gown of deep sapphire blue, the fabric catching the sunlight in soft ripples, like the surface of a calm ocean.
It draped gracefully to her feet, every movement of hers giving it life.
Her long, dark hair fell freely down her back, silky strands cascading all the way to her waist, swaying gently with each step she took.
Her eyes—those quiet brown eyes—held no emotion. They were calm, distant… almost unreadable.
The sunlight kissed her fair, slender figure, making her seem almost unreal, like a vision shaped from light itself.
She was, undeniably… beautiful.
Ziyan stood there unknowingly admiring her beauty, his breath caught somewhere between disbelief and awe.
He hadn't expected this—hadn't expected her. His eyes widened, unable to look away, as if afraid she might disappear the moment he blinked.
Around him, the aunties shared the same stunned silence. It was their first time seeing Roselia like this—no, truly seeing her—and the sight left them speechless.
For a few lingering seconds, no one moved.
Because Roselia wasn't just standing there—
She had arrived.
"Now I know why Hayuel keeps her hidden… I mean, look at her—she's so beautiful. Am I right, Shina?" Mina said, her voice laced with admiration.
"Yeah… she really is," Shina admitted, her eyes lingering on Roselia a moment longer than usual.
Ziyan said nothing.
He couldn't.
His gaze was fixed on her, drawn in completely, as if the rest of the world had quietly faded away.
But as he kept looking, something shifted. His admiration faltered—just slightly—when he noticed it.
Faint bruises.
They marked her skin—on her face, along her arms. Subtle, but undeniable. And there, just at her neck, a reddish mark that didn't belong.
His expression tightened.
A memory surfaced—uninvited, yet sharp.
The noises from the night before… shouting… something heavy crashing to the ground—from Roselia's house.
His thoughts barely had time to settle when Mina suddenly gestured toward Roselia, calling her over with a cheerful wave.
Roselia hesitated for the briefest second… then walked toward them.
And in that moment—
it was the first time she truly saw Ziyan.
And the first time Ziyan saw her… this close.
Up close, she seemed even more unreal.
The sunlight softened her features, her presence quiet yet striking.
"She's even prettier from this close…" Ziyan found himself thinking, momentarily losing himself again.
"Hello!" Shina greeted warmly.
"Hello! It's nice to meet you," Roselia replied, offering a gentle smile—polite, composed… almost practiced.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too. What's your name?" Shina asked.
Ziyan listened carefully. This was what he had been waiting for.
"My name is Roselia," she said softly, her smile never faltering.
"Oh, that's such a lovely name. How old are you?" Shina continued.
"I'm 30 years old."
That made Ziyan blink in surprise. He hadn't expected that. In his mind, she looked much younger—mid-twenties at most.
"Oh! But you look so young," Shina added with a light laugh.
But Ziyan wasn't paying attention to that anymore.
His eyes had dropped—just slightly.
And that's when he saw it.
A bandage wrapped around her leg… stained faintly with blood.
Concern replaced everything else.
"Hey… sorry to interrupt," Ziyan said, stepping forward, his voice more serious now.
"But may I know what happened to your leg? It looks… badly injured."
The aunties turned, noticing it only now—because he had.
"Oh! We didn't even see that," Mina said, surprised. "Ziyan, you really have sharp eyes. What happened, dear?"
Roselia's gaze flickered downward. For a moment, she didn't speak.
She hesitated.
Then—
"No… it's nothing," she said quickly, though her voice carried a slight tremor. "My cat was chasing a rat… and accidentally pushed a heavy box. It fell on my leg."
The explanation came, but it didn't sit right.
Ziyan didn't look away.
His eyes stayed on hers—steady, searching.
And Roselia felt it.
The weight of his gaze made her uneasy… because somewhere, deep down, she knew—
he didn't believe her.
"Oh, that's unfortunate," Mina said sympathetically.
But Ziyan remained silent.
Watching.
Thinking.
"Okay… I should go. I have some work," Roselia said suddenly, almost as if she needed to escape.
"Oh! Alright, bye. We'll talk some other day," Mina smiled.
"Yeah… okay, aunty. Take care," Roselia replied, before turning away.
She didn't look back.
She walked straight into her house, closing the door behind her—leaving behind questions no one voiced.
Except one.
Ziyan.
"Oh, I should leave too," he said after a moment, forcing a polite smile. "It was nice talking to you all."
He waved lightly and walked away, the aunties calling their goodbyes behind him.
Inside her house, Roselia sat quietly on the couch, her cat curled beside her as she absentmindedly patted its soft fur.
Her thoughts were anything but calm.
"…No one noticed my injured leg," she whispered to herself, her voice trembling. "Then how did he…?"
The question lingered.
And with it, the weight of everything she had tried to hide.
Frustration built up in her chest, tight and suffocating—until it finally broke.
Tears slides down her cheeks, silent and uncontrollable.
Meanwhile, Ziyan sat inside a moving car, staring out the window—but seeing nothing.
His mind was elsewhere.
On her.
The bruises.
The hesitation.
The lie.
A quiet unease settled deep within him.
Something wasn't right.
And for reasons he couldn't yet explain—
he found himself worried about Roselia.
Not just curious.
Not just intrigued.
But genuinely… worried.
And that feeling refused to leave.
To be continued…