Shadows of the Day and Night

It was in Norwich that she saw Dominic Dixon again.

Julia Jordan was in the city on a year-long work assignment. The October air in Norwich was bone-chilling, a biting cold that seemed to seep into the marrow. By the time she landed, it was already past ten at night. She hadn't been in the airport long before her phone rang. It was Dominic, asking for her location.

"Gate A."

"Wait there. I’m almost there."

A few minutes later, Julia spotted a man walking toward her from a distance. He moved with a disciplined, upright gait, dressed in Federal Service training gear that emphasized his lean, powerful build. He had grown more reserved, more mature since she had last seen him. His hair was cropped short and neat, framing a face defined by sharp, clean lines and a set, unsmiling jaw. It was a face with striking clarity, yet his eyes, buried beneath a surface of calm, projected a sense of distance that made him feel untouchable.

Julia felt her chest tighten. To say she wasn't nervous about seeing Dominic after all this time would have been a lie.

His heavy gaze settled on her, and his voice, deep and resonant, broke the silence. "Have you been waiting long?"

Julia kept her face neutral, though her composure had fractured long ago. "No, I just arrived."

The temperature in Norwich plummeted at night. She wasn't dressed for the cold, and her small face was pale with a faint, frozen flush on her cheeks. Her eyes looked damp and clear, giving her an air of fragile purity.

Dominic stared at her for a moment. His dark eyes were expressionless, yet they carried an inexplicable, crushing weight. "Let’s go."

He took her suitcase and began walking out.

Julia hurried to keep up. "I'm sorry to trouble you. I shouldn't have made you come all the way out here to pick me up."

"It’s fine."

Once they were in the car, the heater kicked in, and the warmth finally began to take the edge off the cold. Julia remained uneasy, her back stiff against the seat and her hands folded neatly over her knees. Dominic pulled away from the airport and merged into the light late-night traffic.

Since she had just arrived, her plan was to stay in a hotel tonight and report to the hospital the next morning.

After they had driven a while, Dominic spoke. "You're staying in Norwich for a year?"

"Yes."

"Have you arranged a place to stay?"

"A hotel for now. The hospital will assign me a dormitory later."

Dominic’s hand on the steering wheel paused for a fraction of a second. "I have an apartment in the city center," he said. "I’m rarely there. You can stay there."

Her instinct was to avoid living under his roof. She opened her mouth to decline. "There’s really no need to trouble—"

Dominic glanced at the rearview mirror, his tone shifting into something authoritative and brook no argument. "The apartment is near the hospital where you’ll be working. Ten minutes on foot."

Julia’s fingers twitched against her knees. She felt suffocated by the offer. "Truly, I don't need—"

He cut her off. "Your family asked me to look after you."

The implication was clear: he was helping because of their families’ long-standing ties, not because of any personal connection. Their relationship was strictly that of an elder and a junior. Julia bit her lip. Her every instinct told her to keep her distance; if her family hadn't arranged for him to pick her up, she wouldn't have told him she was coming to Norwich at all.

"What if... what if your girlfriend comes over?" she said, trying a different angle. "It wouldn't be convenient for me to be there."

If she remembered correctly, Dominic had a girlfriend.

Dominic didn't look at her. "Who told you that?"

"No... no one. I just thought..."

He paused, his voice dropping an octave. "You can stay there. It won't be an issue."

"Then let me pay you rent and utilities every month. Would that be alright?"

They weren't actually family, and there was no blood relation between them. She couldn't justify taking advantage of him.

"Julia."

He said her name with a sudden, sharp intensity that felt like a physical blow to her heart. Her pulse skipped a beat. His voice was low and heavy. "Since when did you become so formal with me?"

Julia’s chest constricted. She wanted to hide, to disappear into the seat cushions. In the end, her lips parted, but she said nothing.

Fortunately, he didn't press the matter. He turned his attention back to the road. His hands gripped the wheel, the veins on the back of his hands prominent, the lines of his forearms taut and long. His watch seemed to dampen some of the raw power in his movements. After a while, he asked, "Are you hungry?"

"No," she replied. "I ate on the plane."

He didn't speak again. The rest of the drive was shrouded in silence until they arrived an hour later.

The apartment was a spacious, two-story unit with three bedrooms. It was warm and meticulously clean, decorated in a cold palette of blacks, whites, and grays—perfectly in line with his usual style.

Dominic carried her suitcase upstairs and then came back down to face her. "You’ll take the room upstairs. The housekeeper comes by periodically to clean. There’s a spare key hanging on the wall. Let me know if you need anything."

Her body felt rigid. She maintained her polite, distant mask. "Thank you. I have everything I need."

Dominic’s eyes were like ink, hiding a subtle, predatory edge beneath their calm surface. "Get some rest. I’m leaving."

"Right. Drive safely."

The door clicked shut. Almost immediately, her friend Preston Pender called to check in. "You there? Settled in?"

"I'm settled."

"Did Dominic Dixon pick you up?"

"How did you know?"

"He reached out to me, obviously. Asked about your plans. I figured since you’re going to be in Norwich for a year and he’s already there, you might need his help eventually. So I told him."

Panic flared in Julia’s chest. She took a breath. "Don't tell him anything about me from now on. Not a word."

"What’s wrong? You don't like him?"

Julia’s heart squeezed. "Just... don't ask."

"Alright, alright. I'll drop it." Preston paused, then added, "By the way, has Winston Wallis reached out to you?"

The mention of Winston’s name elicited no real reaction from her. "No."

Preston sounded tentative. "Did you really break up with him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

If she had to give a reason, it was that Winston Wallis had never truly respected her. Three months ago, on Winston’s birthday, she had carefully chosen a gift and brought it to the lounge where he was celebrating. Before she could enter the private room, she heard one of his friends ask him:

"When are you planning to marry Julia? She’s been throwing herself at you for so long, it’s got to be soon, right?"

Winston had scoffed. "Just because she throws herself at me doesn't mean I have to say yes. Look at who she is. She doesn't fit."

"Harsh, Winston. Real harsh."

Amidst the laughter and teasing, Winston’s voice remained nonchalant. "A woman who tries too hard is cheap."

"True enough. A woman should have some self-respect."

That night, Julia had thrown the gift away. She sent Winston a single breakup text, blocked his number, and never looked back. Before she deleted the contact, their last messages were still her wishing him a happy birthday and a successful career. He hadn't replied to a single one.

Just then, the sound of the front door opening startled Julia. She spun around instinctively to find Dominic Dixon standing there.

She felt like a child caught doing something wrong. She hung up the phone in a rush.

Had he heard what she said? Surely the soundproofing wasn't that bad.

Dominic’s expression was as cold as ever. "I forgot something."

"Oh... okay."

She tried to steady herself, but her eyes betrayed her anxiety. Dominic didn't call her out on it. He went into his room and emerged moments later. Julia was still standing in the same spot, her hands clasped behind her back, pressed against the wall. She looked profoundly uncomfortable.

Dominic looked at her intently. "Call me if anything happens."

Julia lowered her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. "I... I will."

He was acting exactly like a concerned elder looking after a junior. Nothing more.

And Julia was acting as if they were strangers—as if she were afraid of him.

Dominic said nothing else. He turned and left. Outside in the hallway, he stood for a moment and lit a cigarette. He exhaled a cloud of milky white smoke that dissipated quickly in the cold air. He had heard everything Julia said on the phone. Unsurprisingly, she really didn't want anything to do with him.

Not only did she dislike him, she was actively drawing a line in the sand.

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