Trikala's eyes slowly opened.
For a moment, he remained still, taking in the silence around him. Siya was sleeping peacefully beside him, her expression calm and undisturbed. The tension that had haunted the night seemed to have finally faded from her face.
Carefully, Trikala rose without disturbing her.
He turned around.
Something had moved in the distance.
His gaze narrowed.
At first, he dismissed it as a trick of the wind. But then he noticed another faint movement near the bushes.
Someone was there.
Trikala's instincts immediately sharpened. The ease that had settled over him vanished, replaced by the alertness of a warrior who had survived too many battles to ignore the slightest disturbance.
He moved forward, keeping his steps quiet.
A few moments later, he reached the bushes and peered behind them.
A shadow stood concealed in the darkness.
Trikala's expression hardened.
"Who are you?"
The figure remained still for a moment.
Then, slowly, it turned around.
The moonlight fell across the stranger's face, revealing his identity.
Jate.
Trikala froze.
For a brief moment, genuine surprise crossed his face. He hadn't expected to find Jate here, especially at this hour.
"You?" he exclaimed quietly. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
A strange smile appeared on Jate's face.
"I simply came to see you."
Trikala stared at him, trying to understand what he was planning.
Jate tilted his head slightly.
"I wanted to see whether you were still the same coward you used to be…"
His smile widened.
"Or whether you had finally changed."
He took a step closer.
"But it seems nothing has changed at all."
His voice sharpened with mockery.
"You're still a coward, Trikala. You still haven't found the courage to do what needs to be done."
Trikala's eyes narrowed.
"So you recognized me."
Jate's smile didn't disappear.
"Of course I did."
"Then why pretend otherwise?"
Jate glanced briefly toward the place where Siya was sleeping.
"Because I didn't want her to see your true face."
For a moment, Trikala said nothing.
Then he gave a cold, humorless laugh.
"Your jealousy is beginning to overpower your reason."
Jate's expression changed instantly.
The mocking smile vanished, replaced by something far more disturbing.
"Jealousy?"
His voice grew low and heavy.
"You think this is jealousy?"
He stepped closer, his eyes burning with anger.
"She is mine."
The words came out with absolute conviction.
"She was mine then, and she will be mine again."
The air between them seemed to grow colder.
Trikala stared at him, his expression hardening with every word.
"Time will decide that."
Jate's jaw tightened.
"Don't try to separate her from me, Trikala."
His voice was now a warning.
"Don't even think about standing between us. I took her away from you once, and I can do it again."
Trikala's expression darkened.
For a moment, the two men stood facing each other beneath the pale moonlight, their hostility filling the silence around them.
Then Trikala spoke.
"She isn't an object you can take away."
His voice was firm, carrying the authority of someone who refused to entertain Jate's claim for even another second.
"She is not a possession. She is not a prize to be won, nor does her life belong to either of us."
He took a measured step forward.
"Siya makes her own choices. She decides whom she trusts, whom she allows into her life, and whom she chooses to leave behind."
His eyes locked onto Jate's.
"And whatever she decides, you will have to respect it."
Jate's face twisted with anger.
Trikala continued, his voice growing colder.
"Don't mistake her kindness for weakness. And don't assume that her past gives you the right to control her future."
For a moment, Jate appeared ready to respond.
But Trikala wasn't finished.
"If you ever deliberately hurt her again, Jate, I will make sure you answer for it."
His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
"Do not test me."
Jate stared at him.
Trikala's gaze remained unwavering.
"And there's something else you should understand."
He paused.
"From what little I can see of your future, your judgment is already beginning to deteriorate. If you continue allowing jealousy and anger to govern your decisions, you may soon lose the very reason you believe you deserve her."
A bitter silence followed.
"Jealousy cannot bind someone to you, Jate. Neither can anger. You cannot force another person to remain by your side simply because you cannot bear to lose them."
Trikala's expression became utterly resolute.
"Her choice matters. You have to ask what she wants—not decide for her."
For the first time, Jate's smile disappeared completely.
Trikala turned away.
He had said everything he intended to say.
Without waiting for a response, he walked back toward Siya.
Behind him, Jate remained in the darkness, his expression unreadable.
The moonlight illuminated his face, but it revealed nothing of the thoughts gathering behind his eyes.
Whatever he had come to accomplish that night, the encounter had not gone as he had expected.
And Trikala knew that this confrontation was only the beginning.
---
When Trikala returned, Siya was still sleeping peacefully.
He approached her quietly and carefully lifted her, making sure not to wake her. Then he carried her inside and laid her down on the bed.
He adjusted the blanket around her before sitting beside her.
For a long time, he simply watched her sleep.
The fierce warrior who had confronted Jate moments earlier seemed to have disappeared, leaving behind someone caught between unspoken feelings and an uncertain future.
Siya's breathing was calm and steady.
She had no idea what had happened outside.
She didn't know that Jate had been watching them, or that the two men had exchanged words that might change the course of their relationship.
Trikala rested his gaze on her face.
There were so many things he wanted to understand.
So many things he wished he could tell her.
But for now, he remained silent.
He knew that Siya's life belonged to her. Whatever he felt, he could not demand that she return those feelings.
All he could do was remain beside her for as long as she allowed him to.
And yet, as he sat there in the quiet room, a thought crossed his mind.
When would he get another chance to sit beside her like this—to watch over her in silence, without the demands of duty or the chaos of the world pulling them apart?
He had no answer.
Outside, the night continued to deepen.
And somewhere beyond the walls, Jate's shadow disappeared into the darkness.
The past had returned.
The rivalry had begun to surface.
But the most dangerous question remained unanswered:
Would Jate accept Siya's freedom to choose—or would his obsession with the past drive him toward a future from which even he might not be able to return?