Helena didn't move immediately after his words.
"Or not stopping myself sooner."
That sentence lingered in the air between them like something unfinished.
Something dangerous.
She watched Marcus carefully now.
Not the CEO.
Not the man everyone seemed to fear.
Just him.
"And what exactly did you start when you chose me?" she asked quietly.
Marcus didn't answer right away.
His silence wasn't avoidance this time.
It was restraint.
The kind that held something back by force.
Finally, he spoke.
"You think this is about starting something," he said.
A pause.
"It isn't."
Helena's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then what is it about?"
Marcus stepped closer again.
Not invading.
Not rushing.
But closing distance in a way that made it impossible to ignore him.
"It's about what I refused to let end," he said quietly.
That hit differently.
Helena's voice softened—just slightly.
"What was going to end?"
Marcus's gaze held hers.
"You."
Silence snapped tight again.
But this time, Helena didn't react immediately.
She just stared at him.
Searching for exaggeration.
Searching for manipulation.
Something she could push away.
But Marcus didn't look like he was trying to win anything.
He looked like someone who had already lost too much.
"You keep saying things like that," she said slowly.
"But you never explain them."
Marcus exhaled quietly.
"Because explanation comes with consequences."
Helena tilted her head slightly.
"I think I've already met those."
That made something flicker in his expression.
Almost approval.
Almost frustration.
Then—A shift in the atmosphere.
Not from them.
From somewhere deeper in the building.
A distant sound.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Controlled.
Marcus's posture changed instantly.
Alert again.
Focused.
Helena noticed immediately.
"What is that?" she asked.
Marcus didn't take his eyes off the corridor.
"Not ours," he said quietly.
Helena felt it too now.
That tightening in the air.
That sense of being observed again.
"More visitors?" she asked.
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"No."
A pause.
"People who never left."
Helena frowned slightly.
"That doesn't make sense."
Marcus finally looked at her again.
"Not everything here is supposed to make sense to you yet," he said.
That sentence almost triggered her anger.
Almost.
But then she saw it.
Not arrogance.
Not control.
Concern.
Real concern.
So she shifted instead.
"What do we do?" she asked.
Marcus didn't hesitate this time.
"We move."
He grabbed her wrist again—but differently than before.
Not possessive now.
Protective.
Urgent.
Helena didn't resist.
They turned together down the corridor.
Fast now.
Focused.
But even as they moved, Helena noticed something else.
The way Marcus stayed slightly between her and the sound behind them.
Not fully blocking her.
Just always positioned like he'd take the hit first.
That realization stayed with her longer than the footsteps.
They reached a junction where the corridor split.
Marcus stopped instantly.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Helena watched him.
"You know where to go," she said.
It wasn't a question.
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
Which was enough confirmation.
"You always know where to go," she added quietly.
A pause.
"Except when it involves me."
That made him look at her again.
Something unreadable in his expression.
Then he said softly:
"That's the only time it matters."
Helena's breath caught slightly.
But before she could respond—The footsteps stopped.
Right behind them.
Silence.
Then a voice.
Calm.
Familiar in the worst possible way.
"You're both moving faster than expected."
Helena turned slowly.
Marcus tightened his grip slightly—not stopping her, just steadying.
And there he was again.
The man from before.
Watching them like he had never truly left.
Helena's voice dropped.
"…You."
He smiled faintly.
"I told you," he said.
"I don't leave things unfinished."
Marcus stepped forward slightly.
"This is your last warning," he said coldly.
The man tilted his head.
"No," he replied.
A pause.
"This is where it becomes real for her."
His eyes shifted to Helena.
And this time, his tone softened slightly.
"You're not supposed to be walking beside him," he said.
A pause.
"You were supposed to be above him."
Silence hit hard.
Helena frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The man's smile deepened slightly.
"It means," he said slowly,
"you were never meant to be chosen…"
A pause.
"…you were meant to choose."
And then everything went still again.