Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 1: Chapter 1 — Forever

Chapter 1 — Forever

Kevin adjusted the small white box in his hands as he walked down the apartment hallway. The scent of warm cinnamon drifted through the cardboard lid. Cynthia had texted him not to bring anything, insisting she had already made dinner, but old habits died hard. Showing up empty-handed had always felt wrong to him.

Apartment 314.

He slowed to a stop outside the familiar door.

Two weeks.

Objectively, that wasn’t a long time. If one of his friends had told him they were already spending every evening with someone they’d met only fourteen days ago, Kevin would’ve called them crazy. Yet here he was. He smiled to himself. Life was strange.

Two weeks ago, he’d walked into a coffee shop running late for work. Two weeks ago, a girl had bumped into him, spilling an iced coffee across his shirt before apologizing so many times that he’d eventually started laughing. She insisted on buying him another drink. That turned into lunch. Lunch turned into dinner. Dinner somehow turned into seeing each other almost every day.

Fast. Too fast, according to everyone else.

"She’s... different," his roommate had warned him.

"Different how?"

"I don’t know. Just... intense."

Kevin had brushed it off. Maybe she was intense. She was also thoughtful, funny, passionate. She remembered the smallest things about him. She laughed at terrible jokes. She texted him good morning every day without fail. No one had ever looked genuinely excited just because he showed up.

Until Cynthia.

He raised his hand and knocked. Three soft taps echoed through the hallway.

Silence.

Then hurried footsteps. Something bumped into a wall inside. A laugh. Locks clicked. The door swung open.

"There you are!"

Before Kevin could say anything, Cynthia threw her arms around him. She nearly knocked the dessert box from his hands. He laughed.

"Easy."

"I missed you."

"You saw me yesterday."

"I know." She leaned back just enough to look into his eyes. "I still missed you."

Kevin smiled. "You’re impossible."

"So I’ve been told."

She kissed him before stepping aside. "Come in."

The apartment smelled incredible. Garlic. Butter. Fresh herbs. The dining table sat neatly in the center of the room. Two plates. Two glasses filled with red wine. Candles flickered softly despite the overhead lights already being on.

Kevin blinked. "...You did all this?"

Cynthia shrugged as if it were nothing. "I wanted tonight to be special."

He looked around the apartment. Everything was spotless. Almost unnaturally so. The chairs had been perfectly aligned. The silverware was measured to the same distance from each plate. Even the napkins had been folded with meticulous precision.

"You’ve been busy."

She smiled. "I wanted everything to be perfect."

Something about the way she said it lingered in his mind.

Perfect.

Not nice.

Not romantic.

Perfect.

Before he could think any further, she gently took the dessert from his hands.

"You brought something."

"I know you told me not to."

"I’m glad you ignored me."

She set it on the kitchen counter before walking behind him. Her hands rested lightly on his shoulders. Warm. Gentle. She began massaging them. Kevin hadn’t even realized how tense he was until then.

"Long day?"

"The usual."

"You work too much."

"Someone has to pay rent."

"You could stay here."

He chuckled. "We’ve been dating two weeks."

"So?"

"So..."

He searched for the right answer. "I think maybe we should keep getting to know each other first."

For just an instant, her hands stopped moving.

Then they started again.

"You’re right."

Her voice sounded perfectly normal.

"Let’s eat."

They sat across from one another. Cynthia watched him expectantly. He picked up his fork.

The first bite surprised him.

"This is really good."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"You made all this?"

She nodded eagerly. "I watched videos."

"For this?"

"For you."

Kevin laughed awkwardly. "You didn’t have to go through all that."

"I wanted to."

He took another bite.

She barely touched her own food.

Instead, she watched him. Not in an uncomfortable way. More like she was trying to memorize him.

He reached for his wine.

She smiled.

"Drink."

He took a sip. The wine was surprisingly smooth.

"You’ve been staring at me all night."

"I know."

"Am I that interesting?"

"You are to me."

He smiled, shaking his head. "You know..."

She tilted her head.

"I’ve never met anyone like you."

Kevin laughed. "I think that’s a compliment."

"It is."

Silence settled over the table. Comfortable. Quiet.

Then...

His stomach twisted.

Just slightly.

He frowned. Probably too much wine. He reached for another bite. Halfway to his mouth, the fork slipped from his fingers. It clattered against the plate. His chest tightened. He coughed. Once. Twice. His throat burned.

"What..."

The room tilted. His vision blurred around the edges. He tried to stand. His legs refused. The chair scraped loudly across the floor as he stumbled to one knee.

"...Cynthia..."

She didn’t move.

She simply watched him.

Tears slowly filled her eyes.

"I’m sorry."

Kevin stared at her. Confusion overtook the pain.

"...What...?"

Her voice trembled.

"I couldn’t let you leave."

His heartbeat pounded in his ears.

"I know how these things end."

She wiped tears from her face, smiling despite them.

"People get bored. They stop calling. They stop loving each other. I couldn’t..."

Her breathing became uneven.

"...I couldn’t let that happen."

Kevin tried to speak. Nothing came out except another violent cough.

She slowly stood, walked around the table, and knelt beside him. She wrapped both arms around him.

He wanted to push her away.

His body no longer obeyed.

She held him tighter.

"I poisoned us."

The words barely registered.

"I put it in dinner."

She laughed softly. A strange, broken laugh.

"I took it too."

Kevin’s thoughts scattered.

Why?

Why?

Why?

She rested her head against his shoulder.

"Now..."

Her smile grew wider.

"...no one can ever take you away from me."

Tears streamed freely down her face.

"We’ll stay together forever."

Kevin’s vision darkened. The warmth of her embrace felt impossibly wrong.

The last thing he saw was her smiling through tears. The last thing he heard was her whisper.

"I love you."

Darkness swallowed everything.

How long he remained there...

He couldn’t tell.

Perhaps seconds.

Perhaps years.

Then—

Something disturbed the silence.

"...Interesting."

A distant voice. Calm. Unfamiliar.

Then the voice said, "It appears the experiment has failed."

A pause.

Then—

"No..."

"...wait."

A chuckle echoed through the darkness.

"It appears Subject Thirty-Seven survived."

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