Lately, Leila had really started to feel that something was off with Jason.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYKcHkgNdk
He had grown quieter—not the usual cold, broody silence he wore like armor, but a kind of stillness that seemed to sink into his very breath. She often caught him staring at her, gaze distant, as if there was something he wanted to say... but never did.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGp2wscC2BT
She had asked, “Are you okay?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbXXEZJfcW
He simply shook his head, gently, like he was afraid to disturb something fragile.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNB36kbtpnV
The feeling unsettled her deeply.
She thought about it a lot, but no matter how she turned it over in her mind, she couldn’t figure out why. Eventually, she started wondering if she had done something wrong.
So, she grabbed her phone, sat cross-legged on her bed, and opened the search engine.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulV53FKWjp
She typed: “boyfriend acting weird.”
A flood of results popped up.
“Is he falling out of love with me?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMniR3m6bV
“Boyfriend suddenly distant—cheating signs?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLlPwxsU65
“What does it mean when your boyfriend stares at you but doesn’t talk?”
Line after line filled her screen.
She clicked on a few with high view counts. As she read, her brows knitted tighter and tighter.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSq15hvS6I
The articles were packed with dramatic, anxiety-inducing phrases, all pointing to imminent heartbreak. The more she scrolled, the more a creeping panic and vague sense of injustice filled her chest.
Swipe after swipe.
“Silence means he’s preparing to leave you?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBGeYEN9OO
“If he’s not initiating anymore, he’s already gone in spirit?”
She closed the phone.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcNgH9ZRV7
Her expression froze. Her face grew heavy.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJecKay2qLO
What had started as a joke search now pressed on her chest like an invisible weight.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6BKn5yhD0
She couldn’t shake the words.
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Everyone had noticed that something was up with the couple lately.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAug6WO4PV
It wasn’t the kind of problem where they fought. It was more of a delicate quietness between them—like something hung in the air, and neither dared to touch it first.
Unfortunately, love problems weren’t exactly the Batcave’s specialty.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jnuW4hRkw
They were great at catching criminals in the dead of night—not so much when it came to romance.
Especially Dick—the undisputed champion of Gotham’s “Most Breakups in a Calendar Year” award.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKtEbiShFY
His list of exes was longer than the city’s criminal registry, and none of them had lasted a full year.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDKtqqYCCv
Whoever followed his love advice was basically speedrunning to singlehood.
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Even during training lately, Jason had been uncharacteristically off. He got hurt—something that never happened before.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQJg73pSNi
That day, during a sparring session, he got distracted and slammed his shoulder into a wall, tearing up his skin.
Steph came over, grabbed the first aid kit, and casually started patching him up.
“You’re quiet today,” she said, glancing up at him as she wrapped the bandage.
Jason didn’t answer. Just silently put his shirt back on.
As he was about to leave and mentioned he had dinner plans with Leila that night, Steph suddenly gave him a strange smile.
“Wait, wait,” she said, patting his shoulder like it was nothing. “Tonight’s vibes are weird, right? Try my method. Guaranteed icebreaker.”
Jason frowned. “What method?”
Steph didn’t answer. She just said, “Trust me. Wear your bomber jacket. The one You like.”
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At the restaurant, Leila quickly noticed something was off.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMVsBckXB9
Jason’s eyes kept darting. He wasn’t scarfing down food like usual. Even his hand shook slightly when picking up his fork.
After dinner, he drove her home in silence.
At her front door, Leila turned to look at him.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VlLwucmgu
He still wore that troubled expression.
She hesitated, then made up her mind. This atmosphere couldn’t go on.
She signed to him: “Do you want to come up? I wrote a new piece. I want you to hear it.”
Jason paused for a second, then nodded.
Inside, he casually took off his bomber jacket and handed it to her before moving to sit down.
Leila took the jacket, walked to the coat rack—253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aYPuET9d0
And stopped.
Her eyes locked onto something inside the collar.
A lipstick stain.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKS3v9VVAJ
Soft pink. Deliberately left.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpcYI6SHAx
Small, but unmistakably there—like a tiny claim of ownership.
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Back in the Batcave, several vigilantes were crunching popcorn, eyes glued to the surveillance feed—tonight’s “romantic crisis” was about to go live.
On screen, Leila stared at the lipstick mark, unmoving. Jason, oblivious, was about to walk straight into a volcano.
Tim blinked. “Wait... is that...?”
Dick coughed. “Steph, did you seriously plant a kiss mark?”
Steph, lounging at the control panel with her arms crossed, gave a satisfied hum.
“I never said where I put it,” she grinned like a fox who’d just pulled off the prank of the year.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7jVDsQYCQ
“But hey, better than them staying stuck in weird silence forever.”
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Just when everyone was bracing for an explosion...
Something unexpected happened.
Leila froze for a second. Her eyes flicked past the lipstick stain. But her face didn’t change. Not a twitch. Not even an arched brow.
She calmly hung the jacket in the closet.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9zh6Kymxa
Then walked back to the living room, gently took out a pot of already-prepared herbal tea from the cabinet—her usual routine for evenings without caffeine. Jason had stopped drinking caffeine too. She remembered.
She brewed the tea, handed him a cup, her motions gentle and smooth—253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQvmamOaPI
Like a lake untouched by wind.
Then, without a word, she sat down.
And picked up her cello.
The music began.
Not a gentle melody. Not a romantic tune.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ig3vEjtpD
Tonight’s music was sharp, fierce—like waves crashing violently against rocks during a storm. High notes collided like arguments. The composition was dissonant, almost combative—like a silent protest screaming from within.
Jason sat frozen on the couch, the untouched tea still in his hand.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QV543L4sz
He looked at her like he was facing a natural disaster—or rather, a judgment he didn’t even know was coming.
Then, the music stopped.
Leila raised her head. Her expression didn’t change.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aDyDdAJar
She signed: “This piece is called... The Tide.”
Jason had no idea what was happening.
When he got up to leave, he tried to say something—anything—253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0FsKDyAZa
But Leila simply smiled, soft and distant, and walked him to the door.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTvKYNrRb0
She didn’t ask a single question. Didn’t say a word.
Jason left in a daze, like a soldier retreating from a battlefield unsure if the war had really ended.
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Meanwhile, in the Batcave—
The team had been holding their breath, expecting fire and fury.
Instead, on the screen, Leila silently closed the door, turned around, and walked to the corner of the living room.
She opened the liquor cabinet.
Took out an aged bottle of red wine.
And filled her glass to the brim.
Her expression—calm. But cold. Like a knife.
The Batcave fell into dead silence.
Dick slowly set his popcorn down.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxeowE1GUg6
“Jason... godspeed.”
Tim muttered, “We… we didn’t see anything, right?”
Damian nodded, jaw tight. “Right. I know nothing.”
Steph shut off the feed and leaned back in her chair.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mmfFryd0l
“If Jason finds out I put that kiss mark there…253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2ToFoB4aQ
He’s gonna strangle me.”
No one laughed.
Because they all knew—253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35st4BOuNU
That tide… was only just beginning.
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and then Add to home screen.