The Cracks Behind the Glass
Julian hadn’t seen her since the elevator accident which happened yesterday
He didn’t go out of his way to avoid her. Not exactly. But after watching her unravel in the darkness—just for a second—and then seeing her rebuild herself instantly, throwing up walls like armor... it had done something to him.
He kept thinking about the way she hadn’t thanked him. About how she walked past him like nothing had happened, like he was invisible. But also about the tremble in her hands before the mask returned. It haunted him.
He watched her from the corner of the photography studio as she stood with the editorial team, giving crisp directions about the next cover shoot. Her tone was precise, detached. Her posture: straight, flawless. To anyone else, she looked unbothered.
julian
"You're overcompensating,"
He passed her, just enough for her to hear.
She didn’t respond, not with words. Just a glance. Sharp. A silent warning.
The shoot wrapped quickly, as it always did under her tight supervision. Selena dismissed everyone with a nod and turned to leave, her heels clicking briskly across the polished floor.
Selena hart
“Is there something you need, Mr. Blackwood?”
julian
“You didn’t answer my question earlier,” he said, arms folded.
Selena hart
“I didn’t hear a question.”
Selena hart
“I don’t owe you an answer.”
She turned her head, her lips curling in a near-smile that held no warmth.
Selena hart
“Do not mistake your presence in that lift with significance in my life,”
julian
“I saw you,I saw what it did to you.”
Selena hart
“I don’t need you to see me I need you to do your job.”
julian
“Maybe I want more than that.”
Her eyes narrowed, but not in fury—in fear.
Before she could speak again, her phone rang. She answered instantly, her tone flipping with practiced ease.
Selena hart
“Yes, Mother? You changed the curtains? Finally, good. No, I don’t want to hear that you cried about it. I’m proud of you. That’s all.”
She hung up before her mother could respond.
julian
“That sounded... loving.”
Selena hart
“It was,” she said, her tone dripping with venomous sarcasm. “As long as she behaves.”
julian
Julian exhaled slowly. “You don’t let anyone breathe around you, do you?”
Selena hart
“Only the ones who might choke me,” she said flatly.
But before he could push further, she walked away, spine straight, the queen of her paper throne.
Julian stood there for a moment longer, watching the shadow she left behind. And in his heart, something twisted—not pity, not anger—but a dangerous mixture of both.
Something was going to break. He could feel it.
And when it did, he wasn’t sure if he’d be the one catching her... or the one she dragged down with her.
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