Chapter 30: Demons.

Seeing Steven and Dua walk into the house together, Shane sighed in relief, "thank goodness, you're safe."

"I'm sorry for making you worry." Dua apologized.

"No, it's not just me. Your husband was worried too. You need to see the way he dashed out of the house to find you." Shane said.

"Gosh! he'll have gone crazy if anything had happened to you," he continued, earning a glare from Steven and a timid smile from Dua.

"I'll be upstairs." Dua said and left.

Steven's subtle gaze followed Dua as out of the living room. "You didn't have to exaggerate it that way," he said to Shane.

"Exaggerate what?" Shane asked.

"Going crazy if anything happened to her." Steven said.

"Was I wrong?" Shane said.

Steven gave him a calculated gaze, "yes," he said, leaving Shane chuckling.

Steven proceeded into the bedroom where he met Dua already in bed. He took off his shirt revealing his upper body filled tattoo, except his chest. Dua laid in bed watching him, her hands itching to touch his tattoos. Amidst the tattoos was one particular one that drew her. It was the drawing of a crystal. "Beautiful," she unconsciously muttered.

Steven turned to her with a smirk, "I'm that handsome."

"Yes, you and your crystal," she unconsciously blurted out and there was a flicker of an expression she couldn't read in Steven's eyes that disappeared just as soon as it appeared.

Dua's eyes widened as she realized what she said, "no, I didn't mean that." She tried explaining herself but he ignored her and went into the bathroom.

"Stupid Dua," she cursed at herself but then her mind dwelled on the expression she saw in Steven's eyes when she said the word, "crystal."

"Is there a story about crystal in his life or does he have a dark past?" She thought.

By the time Steven came out of the bathroom, Dua was already asleep, so he thought though until she sprang up frustratingly. "I can't sleep."

He ignored her and strode to his side of the bed and laid down.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" She asked him.

"How's any of what you said my concern?" He asked.

"It's your concern because you're my husband and the solution to my problem lies with you," she replied and he raised a brow.

"How did you get convinced that I'm not Diane?" She asked but he was quiet.

"Hey!" She tapped his arm and he sighed.

"After a long and careful thinking and investigations, many things came in view."

"Many things?" She drew closer to him, her curiosity painted on her face.

"Diane loves, cherishes and worships me, but you don't. Diane's not a virgin but you were until you gave it up to me. Asides the identical look you both share, you're both different in every other thing," he explained and her mouth curved into an "oh."

"So how did you find me because I can't remember telling you where exactly I went?" She asked next.

"That's for you to never find out," he replied and she rolled her eyes.

"Now can you let me be?" He said and she threatened to punch him but then laid back in bed.

"You can't sleep, can you?" She asked.

"Don't bother about and get some sleep," he replied.

"I knew it," she sighed.

She turned to him and touched his face. She felt bad for him again not being able to sleep because of his insomnia.

"Would you let me help you?" She asked.

He finally looked at her, his eyes gazing deep into hers.

"Focus on me," she said softly.

"Isn't that a dangerous thing for you to ask?" He said, his voice husky.

Dua swallowed, "I take that back..."

"Too late," he interrupted her and took possession of her lower lip.

Dua was too shocked to move so she stayed still. But as he kissed her on, she responded to his kiss, even though she didn't want to. Her body seemed to act on its own accord. As she felt the warmth of his lips against hers, every thought scattered like leaves caught in a gust of wind. The world around her faded; the tension of the evening, the discussions of their relationship, and the mysteries that surrounded Steven slipped away, leaving just the two of them suspended in a moment that felt both familiar and terrifying.

For a fleeting second, she wondered why her heart raced so wildly. Isn’t this what she wanted? To bridge the gap between them, to reach a deeper understanding so she could solve him, the very first mystery she wanted to solve? But as she lost herself in the kiss, she wasn’t sure what she craved more – connection or clarity.

Suddenly, Steven pulled back, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions that made her heart flutter. He looked away from her, laying on his back. “Why did you ask to help me?” he probed.

“I-I just thought… if you can’t sleep, maybe I could help you escape your mind for a while," she stammered.

“Escape?” He chuckled softly, almost incredulously. “You think a single kiss will do that?” He smirked.

Dua searched his face, hoping to read the lines of his soul, the depths of his past. “Maybe it can be a start,” she whispered, touching his face and making him look at her .

Steven sighed, his expression softening slightly, and for a moment, she saw a flicker of vulnerability. “Dua,” he began, hesitating as if the weight of his words was heavy. “You don’t know what you’re asking for. I'm nicknamd The Devil, so you should know I have demons that I don’t want you or anyone else to bear them.”

She sighed, she finally understood Shane's words that Steven's a good person and she needed to understand him. She swore within herself that she would begin to learn to understand him so she could solve him.

"There's no one without demons, knucklehead," she replied.

"Mine is different," he said.

“I’m your wife, Steven. I can handle more than you think,” she replied, her voice steady even as the flutter in her chest threatened to betray her.

He closed his eyes briefly, the tension between them palpable. When he opened them again, something shifted. “You don’t know what you’re signing up for,” he murmured, this time more to himself than to her.

Dua took a deep breath, encouraged by the space between them. “Then teach me,” she urged gently. “Let me be part of your story. Let me in.”

For a heartbeat, the silence stretched like a taut wire between them. She watched as he wrestled with something deep within him, something really deep.