It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

You hadn’t meant to follow him. Honestly, you didn’t even know why you did—maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was the weird excuses, the missed calls, the sudden bruises he couldn’t explain. Something had been off about Mark for weeks now, like you were only seeing half of a person, the rest hidden behind shadows and closed doors.

But you hadn’t expected this.

One second, you were trailing him around the edge of campus, heart pounding, feeling ridiculous—and the next, you saw him duck into an alley and launch himself into the air. No hesitation, no harness, no tricks. Just—gone. A blur of blue, gold, and blood-red.

Invincible.

Your breath caught in your throat, chest twisting with disbelief and something dangerously close to betrayal.

Mark Grayson. Your Mark—the one who tripped over his own feet in science class, the one who walked you home after late-night movies, who kissed you like you were the only thing that made sense in his world.

And all this time, he’d been lying.

The confrontation wasn’t graceful. You didn’t plan it. You didn’t wait for the right moment. You stormed into his room later that night, ignoring the cuts on his face, the bruises forming along his jaw, and threw the words like knives:

“How long were you going to lie to me?”

He froze. Not in fear—but in regret. The kind that’s raw, ugly, and completely earned.

“You followed me,” he said softly, as if that was the real betrayal here. “I didn’t—I didn’t want you to find out like this.”

“You didn’t want me to find out at all!” You snapped, heart pounding, eyes burning. “I thought we didn’t keep secrets.”

His fists clenched at his sides, not in anger, but restraint. “I was trying to protect you.”

“Protect me? Mark, I’m not a kid. I’m not fragile. I’m not—” Your voice cracked, softer now. “I’m not stupid.”

The worst part? You understood. You understood why. And that was what hurt most of all. You wanted to be angry, furious, but beneath it all was fear—the kind of fear that takes root when you realize the person you love walks into war zones with only his fists and good intentions.

“I didn’t want this life to take you too,” Mark whispered. “But it already has, hasn’t it?”