The aftermath of the boardroom meeting left a lingering charge in the air of the Solis Tower, like the ozone scent following a lightning strike. Ethan retreated to his office, but the silence he usually craved now felt oppressive. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt the ghost of Mika’s hand on his a tether to a reality where he wasn't a walking disaster.
By mid-afternoon, the corporate machine was back in full swing. Ethan was reviewing the R&D reports when a sudden, sharp spike in his peripheral vision made him freeze.
In the open-plan office just outside his glass walls, a young junior analyst named Leo was walking toward the printer, carrying a stack of sensitive prototypes. Leo was a nervous kid, the kind whose anxiety acted as a conductor for Ethan’s curse.
Ethan watched as the air around Leo began to shimmer. A stapler on a nearby desk slid two inches to the left without anyone touching it.
No. Not him, Ethan thought, lunging for his door.
But it was too late. The curse didn't need physical contact; it fed on Ethan’s internal tension. Because Ethan was stressed about Mika, the field around him was jagged and unpredictable.
As Leo passed a heavy filing cabinet, the metal drawer suddenly shunted open with the force of a battering ram. It caught the boy’s hip, sending him sprawling. The prototypes flew into the air, heading straight for a decorative water feature in the lobby.
"Watch out!" a voice shouted.
Mika appeared from behind a pillar. She didn't dive for the boy; she dove for the prototypes. As she lunged, her foot caught on the edge of a rug. In any other circumstance, she would have fallen. But as she tumbled, the chaotic energy in the room seemed to bend around her.
Instead of a violent crash, there was a strange, muffled thump. The prototypes landed safely on the carpet. Leo was bruised but fine.
However, the energy had to go somewhere.
The overhead sprinkler system hissed. A single, localized nozzle directly above Mika’s head rotated and erupted, drenching her in a freezing torrent of water.
"Mika!" Ethan threw open his office door, forgetting his own rules.
The office went silent. Dozens of eyes turned to the CEO, who was standing in the doorway with a look of raw panic. Mika was sitting on the floor, soaking wet, her white blouse clinging to her skin and her hair plastered to her face.
"I’m okay!" she spluttered, wiping water from her eyes. She looked up at the lone, dripping sprinkler. "Seriously? Just me? I should really stop walking under things."
Ethan marched over to her, his boots clicking loudly on the tiles. The staff scrambled back, creating a wide berth. He reached her and stopped, his hands shaking at his sides. He wanted to pull her up, to check for injuries, but the violet sparks were dancing at his fingertips.
"Get up," he said, his voice a strained whisper.
"Give me a sec, I’m currently a human fountain," Mika joked, though her breath hitched as she saw the intensity in his eyes.
"Jasper!" Ethan roared. "Get a coat. And clear this floor. Now!"
Jasper appeared within seconds, draping his own suit jacket over Mika’s shivering shoulders. "Easy, Boss. The sky isn't falling. It’s just raining indoors."
Ethan didn't listen. He grabbed Mika by the arm—his gloved hand providing a small barrier—and hauled her toward his private office. He didn't care about the whispers or the confused glances of his employees. He only cared about the fact that his presence had just tried to drown her.
Once inside the office, he slammed the door and locked it.
"You’re freezing," he said, pacing the room. He went to a hidden cabinet and pulled out a clean, oversized black hoodie—something he kept for late nights at the desk. He threw it at her. "Change into this. The bathroom is through that door."
Mika caught the hoodie, looking at him with an unreadable expression. "Ethan, it was just a sprinkler. Accidents happen."
"Not to you," he snapped, turning his back to her. "That wasn't an accident. It was a redirected strike. The curse tried to hit Leo, you interfered, and it compensated. It’s targeting you now because you’re the only thing it can’t easily break."
The room grew quiet, save for the sound of the air conditioner humming.
"Is that why you’re so angry?" Mika asked softly. He heard the rustle of fabric as she stepped into the bathroom. "Because I’m 'unbreakable'?"
"I’m angry because you’re reckless," Ethan said to the empty room. "You don't know what you’re playing with. This isn't a fairy tale, Mika. There is no 'true love's kiss' that fixes a Solis. There is only a mounting debt of misfortune that eventually gets paid in full."
Mika emerged a minute later, swallowed by the enormous black hoodie. She looked small, vulnerable, and yet entirely unafraid. She walked right up to him, stopping within the "danger zone."
"Look at the lights, Ethan," she said, pointing upward.
He looked. The LED panels were steady. No flickering. No buzzing.
"Now look at your hands."
He looked down. The violet sparks were gone. His hands were still.
"You think you’re a monster," Mika said, taking a daring step closer. She smelled like damp citrus and the expensive wool of his hoodie. "But maybe you’re just a transformer with a bad fuse. And maybe... I’m the ground wire."
She reached out, not for his hand this time, but for his face. Her fingers brushed his cheek—just for a second.
A tiny, harmless static pop sounded between them. Ethan flinched, but the sensation wasn't painful. It was like a spark of life.
"Don't," he whispered, though he didn't pull away.
"Too late," she whispered back, a mischievous glint returning to her eyes. "I’ve already touched the cursed billionaire. Does this mean I get a quest? Or do I just get a raise?"
Before Ethan could respond, his desk phone rang. It was the internal line from the lobby.
"Mr. Solis," the receptionist’s voice trembled. "There’s a woman here. She says her name is Selene Reyes. She says... the Moon is out of alignment, and the bill is due."
Ethan’s blood turned to ice. He looked at Mika, then at the door.
The mystery wasn't just in his blood anymore. It was knocking on his front door.