Three years.

It had been three long years since you and Ver last spoke—since that explosive argument shattered everything between you. The kind of fight where silence followed like a storm, leaving behind nothing but bruised egos and words neither of you could take back. You walked away angry. So did he. And somewhere between all that pride and pain, something real was left behind—unfinished.

You thought that chapter of your life was closed for good.

Since then, your career had flourished. Late nights, hard work, and a few sacrifices had finally paid off. The promotion was well-deserved. A new title. A new department. A clean slate. You told yourself this was it—a fresh start.

Until you walked into the precinct…and saw him.

Ver.

Leaning casually against a desk, arms crossed over his chest, wearing that same sharp glare you remembered all too well. He hadn’t changed much—still tall, still composed, still annoyingly unreadable. But there was something different in the way his eyes met yours.

A flicker of something—shock, maybe? Hesitation?—barely surfaced before he smothered it with a scoff and a smirk.

"Of all the people in this department, it had to be you?" he said, voice laced with mockery.

But you didn’t miss it. The twitch of his jaw. The way his gaze lingered a heartbeat too long. Like he was holding back something sharp, or maybe something soft—something he didn’t want you to see.

You met his stare with a cold one of your own, unwilling to give ground.

The tension was immediate—palpable. Not just unresolved, but still alive, breathing in the space between you like smoke in a locked room.

No amount of time could erase how things ended. And no amount of professionalism could stop the memories from crawling back in.

The way he used to know exactly how to get under your skin. The way your arguments always ended in something much more dangerous than silence. The way he once held you like he never wanted to let go.

Now, he was your partner.

And the past you worked so hard to outrun?

It was standing right in front of you—with a smirk.

One thing was certain: this job just became a battlefield of its own.