chapter 38

The phone rang sharply, breaking through the heavy silence that had consumed the room after Selena’s departure. Scar Boss’s hand instinctively reached for the device, his fingers trembling slightly as he swiped to answer. He was still seething with the remnants of his argument with Selena, still drowning in the mess of emotions swirling around his chest, but when he saw the number on the screen, something inside him froze.It was a number he recognised but prayed it never rung. It was from his emergency spy number."Scar Boss," the voice on the other end was rushed, frantic. "There’s been an incident… Amaira…"His heart skipped a beat, his stomach twisting with an ominous sense of dread. The mention of her name alone was enough to pull him to the edge of panic, his focus snapping entirely to the voice on the line."What happened?" he demanded, his voice colder than ice, his mind racing with countless scenarios. He gripped the phone tighter, his knuckles turning white."We don’t have much information, but there’s been an accident," the voice continued, its tone shaky. "The scene was… it was horrific. There’s nothing left but ashes. The car—"Scar Boss’s breath caught in his throat, his mind refusing to process the words. Ashes? His mind couldn’t make sense of it. The details blurred in his mind, crashing together like thunderclaps, each word louder than the last. He couldn’t focus. He couldn’t breathe."What do you mean ashes?" Scar Boss’s voice was low, dangerously calm, but beneath it, a terrifying edge of panic crept through. "You’re telling me she—""We’re sorry, but we’ve confirmed it. There’s no way anyone could survive something like that. It’s—"The call ended abruptly, the words hanging in the air like a cold, suffocating fog. Scar Boss stood frozen in the center of the room, the phone still pressed to his ear as the world around him seemed to collapse. His mind was a chaotic blur, his vision darkening as the reality of the situation began to sink in.Amaira. Gone.No.The thought felt like a death sentence, crashing down upon him with an unbearable weight. His legs gave out beneath him, and he sank back onto the bed, the room spinning around him. His chest tightened, his breath shallow and uneven as he tried to process what had just been said to him.Ashes.He hadn’t been able to save her. He hadn’t been able to protect her. And now, he was left with nothing but the cold, empty silence of the room and the haunting knowledge that she was gone.His eyes blurred with a sudden surge of emotion, a wave of grief, anger, and regret crashing over him all at once. He had been so consumed by his own feelings, by his pride and fear of losing control, that he hadn’t even considered how much she meant to him. How much he needed her.And now… now it was too late.Tears welled up in his eyes, something he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in years, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. The pain was too much, the loss too overwhelming.Amaira.The one person who had made him feel something real. The one person who had somehow wormed her way into his heart despite his best efforts to keep her out. And now… now she was gone.The coldness that had once protected him from the world shattered in an instant, replaced by an emptiness so vast, so all-consuming, that it threatened to swallow him whole. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t move.And for the first time in his life, Scar Boss, the untouchable, the cold, the ruthless, felt completely and utterly powerless.His fingers clenched into fists at his sides, and his mind screamed out in agony. The weight of his mistakes, the things left unsaid, the time wasted—everything crashed down on him in an unbearable flood.Why hadn’t he told her? Why hadn’t he fought harder? Why had he let everything slip through his fingers?He stood up, staggering toward the door, his steps unsteady. His mind was spinning, his vision clouded with tears. He needed to see for himself. He needed to know if it was true. If it was real.But deep down, he already knew.Amaira was gone. And there was nothing he could do to bring her back.As he stumbled out of the room, the pain in his chest felt like it might tear him apart. Every step felt heavier than the last. The world around him felt like it was closing in, the walls closing in on him, squeezing the life out of him.His phone slipped from his hand, falling to the floor with a sharp crack, but he didn’t care. His mind was consumed with only one thought—he needed to find her. He needed to fix it.But it was too late. He couldn’t fix this. There was no coming back from this.Amaira.