Part-265

  Meanwhile, James and Toya tinued walking through the now quiet streets. The night air was crisp, carrying with it the faint st of rain. After a few moments, James let go of Toya’s hand, their silent charade no longer necessary. her of them had spoken much sihey left the mall, both lost in their own thoughts about what had just happened.

  Toya’s eyes were fixed ahead, her lips pressed into a thin line. She kly what had happened back there—the gang hadn’t approached them by ce. Rakib had sent them, and James had dealt with them swiftly. But the fact that Rakib had stooped so low infuriated her.

  "What a scumbag," Toya muttered under her breath, her disgust evident.

  James g her, his brow furrowing in . "That guy is obsessed with you," he said, his tone serious. "Too obsessed."

  Toya scoffed, shaking her head. "I hate guys like him more than anything. They think they owhing and everyone just because they’ve got money and power. It makes me sick."

  James nodded. He uood her frustration. Rakib wasn’t just some annoying suitor—he was dangerous, and his obsession with Toya was being more and more uling. But as much as James wao put ao this, he k wasn’t that simple. Rakib’s es ran deep, and taking him down wouldn’t be a matter of physical strength. It would require strategy and patiehings that made James feel uneasy in their plexity.

  For a moment, the tensioween them lifted as Toya smirked. "Besides, I hate you too," she added, her voice wasn't teasing. "Especially your personality."

  James raised an eyebrow, grinning pyfully. "Ouch. That’s harsh. Don’t even think about getting close to me, then."

  Toya shot him a pointed look, clearly unimpressed. "Trust me, I won’t."

  James feigned a hurt expression, pg a hand over his heart in mock pain. "I’m wounded," he said dramatically. "I try to protect you, and this is the thanks I get?"

  Toya rolled her eyes, but a faint smile tugged at the ers of her mouth. For a brief moment, the weight of the evening’s events seemed to lighten, and they allowed themselves a rare moment of levity.

  But beh the banter, James couldn’t shake the feeling that things were far from over. He had seen the look in Rakib’s eyes, the kind of deep-seated ahat didn’t simply go away. Rakib wasn’t the type to back down, aher was James. The csh between them wasn’t just about Toya—it was about power, trol, and pride. And James khat as long as Rakib was obsessed with Toya, the two of them were going to have to tread carefully.

  As they walked side by side through the darkereets, the looming threat of Rakib hung over them like a storm cloud. For now, they could only wait, knowing that sooner or ter, the calm would break, and the real battle would begin.

  The front door clicked shut behind James as he stepped into his house, the familiar warmth of home greeting him like a f b. He kicked off his shoes and made his way toward the living room, hoping for a quiet night after everything that had transpired at the mall. His thoughts were still tangled with the skirmish earlier, his body humming with the residual adrenaline from the fight. But all he wanted now was to rex, maybe grab something to eat and recharge his mental energy.