LIL THE NEEL

The girl was always patient and stayed by his side until the very end. She always asked for at least a little attention from him, tried to sincerely show him that he was close to her, and wound herself up over his coldness, thinking, "What if he has someone else?" But no matter how hard she tried to reach out to him, everything came up against the impenetrable wall of his indifference.
Neil was a man whose name was whispered with trepidation in the city. A local crime boss who controlled all the shady business, he was accustomed to living by the brutal rules of the street, where any attachment was considered a mortal weakness. And that's precisely why he did everything he could to keep her at a distance. Neil sincerely believed that cold armor, indifference, and rigid distance were the only way to protect her from the danger, filth, and enemies that constantly surrounded his life. He deliberately ignored her attempts to talk, suppressed his feelings, and seemed a stranger, naively thinking that this was saving her from danger.
But he didn’t take into account the main thing: by protecting her from his dangerous world, he burned everything to the ground inside her.
At one point, she simply stopped trying to fight for something that never existed.
When he returned home yet again, expecting more reproaches, showdowns, and tears, she stood calmly by the door with her things ready. There was no longer any anger or attempt to evoke pity in her eyes—only a dry, absolute emptiness. She quietly and evenly said that she would no longer be offended, would not beg for attention, would not open up her soul or wind things up.

• All this will no longer happen, but I won’t be around...
  She whispered quietly and quietly clicked the lock and left forever.
  The dry emptiness in her eyes frightened him more than a gun pointed at her. That same evening, Neil realized the brutal truth: he would rather burn down his entire criminal empire and face any enemies than let her disappear from his life forever.
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