Chapter - 10
The mansion changed after Leon's visit.
Not overnight.
Not dramatically.
Just enough for Nani to notice.
The next morning...
Nani walked carefully into the dining room, his injured foot much better than before.
"Morning, Manager Sky!"
Sky looked up from his coffee.
"Morning."
His tone was flat.
Colder than usual.
Nani blinked.
"...Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."
Sky ignored him.
The silence at breakfast felt strangely heavy.
Whenever Nani spoke...
Sky answered with only a word or two before returning to his meal.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances.
Something was different.
---
The days that followed weren't any better.
Nani would excitedly tell another random story.
Sky would simply nod.
Or not respond at all.
If Nani asked a question...
Sky's replies became shorter.
Sharper.
More distant.
Nani laughed it off at first.
"Huh."
"Cold Ice Cream became Frozen Ice Cream."
But...
The jokes slowly stopped.
---
One evening...
Nani limped into Sky's office carrying a small plate of sliced fruit.
"I stole these from the kitchen."
He smiled proudly.
"Sharing is caring."
Sky didn't even look up from the documents.
"I'm busy."
"I know."
"I'll leave them here."
"I said I'm busy."
The words were colder this time.
Nani quietly placed the plate on the desk anyway.
"You've been working all day."
"You should eat something."
Sky finally looked up.
His patience, already worn thin by work and emotions he refused to acknowledge, snapped.
"I don't need you reminding me what to do."
The room fell silent.
Nani's smile faded.
"I was just-"
"I know what you were doing."
Sky stood.
His voice remained controlled.
But every word landed harder than the last.
"You talk too much."
"You interfere with everything."
"You assume we're... friends."
"We're not."
Nani froze.
Sky continued before he could stop himself.
"This isn't a hotel."
"And this isn't your home."
"You've stayed here long enough."
The moment the words left his mouth...
Silence swallowed the room.
Nani stood there without speaking.
His fingers slowly tightened around the edge of the empty plate.
For the first time since arriving...
He couldn't think of a joke.
"...I understand."
His voice was quiet.
Almost too quiet.
He lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry for bothering you."
He picked up the plate.
Turned around.
And walked out.
The office door closed softly behind him.
No slam.
No argument.
Just...
Silence.
---
Sky remained standing.
The office suddenly felt much larger.
Much emptier.
Tee, who had witnessed everything from outside the half-open door, quietly looked at the floor.
He had never seen Nani leave that quietly.
Sky stared at the closed door.
His chest felt strangely tight.
He wanted to call Nani back.
The words never came.
Instead...
He sat back down.
And buried himself in another report.
---
That night...
Nani locked himself inside the guest room.
Dinner came.
A maid knocked gently.
"Young Master Nani... dinner is ready."
"...I'm not hungry."
The tray remained untouched outside his door.
Inside...
Nani sat on the floor beside the bed, hugging his knees.
His eyes stung.
"...So that's what he really thinks."
He looked around the room.
The fluffy blanket.
The soft pillows.
The place he had started calling safe.
A small smile crossed his face.
Sad this time.
"I really was treating it like home."
---
Before dawn...
The mansion remained asleep.
One bedroom door quietly opened.
Nani stepped into the hallway carrying only his backpack.
He looked back one last time.
"...Thank you."
He whispered to the empty room.
Then he walked away.
---
Hours later...
Breakfast was served.
Sky entered the dining room as usual.
"Nani."
No answer.
He frowned.
"Where is he?"
One of the maids looked nervous.
"We... thought he was sleeping."
Sky immediately walked upstairs.
He knocked once.
No reply.
He opened the door.
The room was spotless.
The bed neatly made.
The wardrobe empty.
Only a folded envelope rested on the bedside table.
Sky slowly picked it up.
Inside...
There was cash.
And a short handwritten note.
?Thank you for letting me stay here.
I don't want to owe anyone anything, so I left the money I could.
Sorry for causing trouble.
Please don't look for me.
- Nani?
For several seconds...
Sky simply stared at the paper.
His grip tightened.
Outside the room, Tee's expression sank.
"...Boss?"
No answer.
Far away...
Nani sat alone on a bus heading toward an unfamiliar city.
His backpack rested beside him.
The scenery outside slowly changed.
He looked out the window and forced himself to smile.
"New place..."
"New start."
But despite his words...
The seat beside him felt strangely empty.
-----------
The bus rolled into the station just before sunset.
Nani stepped onto the pavement with only a backpack slung over one shoulder.
No wedding clothes.
No luxury mansion.
No family waiting at the gate.
Just a city full of strangers.
He looked around and let out a slow breath.
"...A fresh start."
Even if he wasn't sure how long it would last.
---
Back home...
Chaos hadn't settled.
It had only changed shape.
Nani's father paced through the living room, phone pressed tightly against his ear.
"No."
"He still hasn't contacted us."
"If anyone hears from him, call me immediately."
His mother sat quietly on the sofa, worry written across her face.
"I just want to know he's safe..."
Dew stood near the window.
He hadn't told anyone about Nani's last message.
He simply hoped his brother had found somewhere peaceful.
---
Elsewhere...
Niran remained composed, but the failed wedding had become the talk of too many people.
He looked over a list of cities spread across his desk.
"He couldn't have disappeared without a trace."
One of his employees spoke carefully.
"We've checked several places already."
Niran replied evenly,
"Keep looking."
"If you find him..."
"Tell me immediately."
The room fell silent.
---
Meanwhile...
Nani finally found a modest apartment for rent.
It was tiny.
The kitchen was barely bigger than a closet.
The wallpaper was peeling in one corner.
The bed squeaked every time he sat down.
He looked around the room.
"...Definitely not five-star."
He laughed quietly.
"But..."
"It's mine."
For the first time in weeks...
No one was telling him what to wear.
Where to go.
Or who to marry.
He unpacked his few belongings.
His charger.
A couple of hoodies.
His favorite skincare.
The silver anklet.
He carefully placed it beside the bed.
Then collapsed onto the mattress.
"It squeaks..."
"But I'll survive."
---
The next morning...
Nani walked to a nearby convenience store.
He carried a small shopping basket with instant noodles, bread, fruit, and milk.
"This is adulting..."
He sighed dramatically.
"So expensive."
As he stepped back onto the street...
He froze.
Across the road...
Two unfamiliar men were looking around, showing someone a photo on a phone.
One of them pointed toward nearby shops.
Nani couldn't make out the conversation.
But something about it made his stomach tighten.
Instinctively, he turned his face away and pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt.
"...Please..."
He whispered.
"Can't they just leave me alone?"
He slipped into a side street, heart beating faster than before.
Only after several minutes did he stop to catch his breath.
He leaned against a wall and closed his eyes.
"I don't want to keep running forever."
The words came out tired.
Not angry.
Just... exhausted.
He looked up at the unfamiliar skyline.
A new city.
A new apartment.
A new beginning.
He only hoped...
It would finally be a place where no one tried to choose his future for him.
-----------
Three days passed.
Nani never returned.
His phone stayed switched off most of the time.
The tiny apartment became his entire world.
He kept the curtains closed.
Avoided crowded places.
Only stepped outside when absolutely necessary.
Every passing black car made him instinctively look away.
"...Just let me live."
He whispered to himself as he hurried home with a bag of groceries.
Running away was exhausting.
But going back...
Wasn't an option.
---
Back in his hometown...
Niran sat in his office, expression calm but eyes cold.
One of his men entered.
"Sir."
"We still haven't found him."
Niran closed the file in front of him.
"Keep searching."
The man hesitated.
"Sir... is this really worth all of this?"
A long silence followed.
Finally...
Niran spoke.
"It stopped being about marriage."
"It became about my pride."
"I was rejected."
"In front of everyone."
"My reputation took the blow."
He stood and looked out the window.
"I don't like losing."
"Find him."
The man lowered his head.
"Yes, sir."
---
North City.
The mansion had changed.
The laughter that used to echo through the dining hall had disappeared.
Breakfast was silent.
Dinner was silent.
Even the staff spoke in whispers.
Sky had become harsher than ever.
Meetings ended with shattered glasses.
Negotiations ended with raised voices.
No one dared make mistakes.
Late at night...
Sky sat alone in his office.
An untouched dinner sat nearby.
A bottle of whiskey rested beside overflowing ashtrays.
Smoke slowly filled the room.
He poured another drink.
Finished it.
Then another.
The room blurred slightly.
His thoughts didn't.
No matter how much he tried to bury them...
They returned to the same moment.
"I'm sorry for bothering you."
The quiet voice echoed in his mind.
Sky clenched the glass.
With one sharp movement-
Crash!
The glass shattered against the wall.
Fragments scattered across the floor.
He rubbed a hand over his face.
"...Enough."
He lit another cigarette.
The smoke curled upward.
Still...
The silence felt unbearable.
---
A knock interrupted him.
Tee stepped inside.
He looked at the broken glass.
The whiskey.
The cigarettes.
Then at Sky.
"...Boss."
No response.
Tee took a slow breath.
"I know I shouldn't interfere."
Sky remained silent.
"But..."
"This is the first time I'm saying something like this."
Sky finally looked at him.
Tee continued carefully.
"...Forgive me if I overstep."
Another pause.
"You hurt Nani."
The office became still.
"And..."
"I support Nani here."
Sky's expression hardened.
Tee didn't back away.
"I've worked with you for years."
"I know you're feared."
"I know you rarely regret anything."
"But this..."
He glanced toward the empty guest wing through the window.
"...This was different."
"You pushed away someone who trusted you."
Sky's jaw tightened.
Tee spoke one last time.
"Sir..."
"If you keep treating people this way..."
"Nani may never look at you the same again."
The words hung heavily in the air.
Tee lowered his head respectfully.
"And please..."
"Don't mistake his innocence for weakness."
"He chose to leave rather than stay somewhere he no longer felt welcome."
"I'm sorry if I've spoken too much."
He gave a small bow.
Then quietly walked out of the office.
The door clicked shut.
Sky remained alone.
The room felt even emptier than before.
His gaze drifted to the guest room visible across the courtyard.
Dark.
Untouched.
Exactly as Nani had left it.
For the first time in years...
The ruthless mob boss had no orders to give.
No enemy to fight.
Only silence...
And words he could never take back.