✨ The Scene That Almost Stayed: A Deleted Chapter from When Mirrors Blink Red
When I was revising When Mirrors Blink Red, there was one chapter I loved fiercely. It showed another layer of Noor City, another angle of Layla’s fire. But in the end, I had to let it go
Writers live with two truths:
- You always fall in love with your words.
- You always have to cut some of them.
When I was revising When Mirrors Blink Red, there was one chapter I loved fiercely. It showed another layer of Noor City, another angle of Layla’s fire. But in the end, I had to let it go — not because it wasn’t good, but because the story demanded sharper pace, higher tension, and a tighter flow toward the storm that follows.
Still, stories don’t vanish just because they’re cut. They linger, waiting for the right moment to be told. And today, I want to share this one with you.
Why it didn’t make the book
This scene came from that in-between space — not quite heat, not quite danger, but something softer. It gave us a glimpse of Layla’s heart before the world pressed harder on her choices. I adored it… but it slowed the book right when the tension needed to tighten.
Sometimes editing is brutal honesty: even the pieces you love most can’t stay, if the story needs you to be ruthless.
The Deleted Chapter - Stolen Hours
Sunlight spilled across the guest wing like it had been bought by the square inch — which, in Noor City, it probably had. Only quiet, the faint click of Aegis boots changing shifts outside her door.
A week ago she’d been free in London. She used to walk to lectures through rain that smelled of coffee; debate friends over croissants; slip into galleries just to stand in front of canvases no one else cared about. Freedom was small things: deciding which street to take, when to leave a café, who to answer when her phone buzzed. Now her mornings began with locked doors and the hum of hidden sensors. Life had handed her lemons, but these weren’t the kind you could turn into lemonade — they were the kind you bit into just to remind yourself you still had teeth.
She pushed away from the window and sat at the breakfast table, too big for one person.The headline was still there: Unity on Display. Beside it, his face. Below, a pull quote circled in ink: Betrayal destroys. Someone has to decide which ruins are worth keeping.
“Stop staring, idiot", she scolded herself. "Admiring the man planning your captivity is a luxury you cannot afford."
She hated that part of her — the part that looked longer at the photograph than at the ink. The part that remembered his hand on her wrist. She scrubbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand. One tear slipped anyway; she caught it before it hit the table.
Cameras didn’t forgive weakness. The faintest pulse of red blinked in the corner — one of Haddad’s “safety mirrors.” They were supposed to keep valuable properties safe without looking like cameras. Supposed to belong only to the owner’s feed. She tried not to think about how many owners there might be — or who was watching now.
The scent of espresso reached her before the man did.Sandro crossed the room without hurry, jacket open, sleeves rolled as if he’d already conquered someone’s morning. He poured coffee, set a cup in front of her.
"You drink it black.”
“Sometimes."
"Today, you do."
She hated how the warmth of the porcelain felt like his hand—steady, insistent, leaving no room for refusal.
"Control extends to caffeine now?"
"Consider it insurance against bad decisions.
"Her pulse betrayed her; she looked down at the paper instead.
"Dalal Rahim wrote you up like you’re Noor City’s savior."
"Dalal likes tidy stories."
"You don’t?"
"I like results."
Results. As if people were just numbers on his ledger, she thought to herself.
“Before she could push, the intercom on the sideboard chimed. Noura's voice, crisp:
"Miss Yasmeen on the line."
Layla grabbed the receiver.
"Yas? What’s wrong?"
"Nothing yet, Yasmeen’s voice was low. Donors are twitchy. Someone’s whispering the engagement is a smokescreen. I’ll talk them down, maybe come later. A pause, then the faintest smile in her voice. Connor still haunting the hallways?"
Even through the line, Layla heard something softer in Yasmeen’s tone — a shade she rarely spent on anyone.
"Just being Connor. Be careful", Layla murmured.
"I always am. A pause. How’s the DeLuca Residence life?"
Layla’s gaze flicked to Sandro, unreadable across the table."Complicated.”
Yasmeen laughed softly."Try not to stab anyone before lunch."
The line went dead. Layla set the phone down, unease prickling under her skin.Sandro watched her over the rim of his cup.
"You’re not as subtle as you think."
"Maybe I don’t want to be."
His smile cut quick, razor-sharp.
"Good. It keeps things interesting."
She stood, smoothing the silk of her blouse, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her rattled.
"I’ll work from the library."
His gaze tracked her movement, assessing, calculating — or maybe something else, something that made her throat tighten.
"Stay inside today. Until Connor’s back from the port.”
“I wasn’t planning to run."
"Good."
Somewhere deep in the building, a small red light blinked once, then pretended to sleep.
Excerpt From
When mirrors blink red
Ellen Bellmare
This material is protected by copyright.
Why I still love it
For me, this chapter shows that Layla was never just a pawn — not even when the game tried to make her one. She pushes back, even over something as small as coffee.
It also shows Sandro’s contradictions: danger wrapped in discipline, wisdom scarred into his bones. He doesn’t yield, but he doesn’t lie either — his truths hit like steel, and that makes them impossible to ignore.
Cut or not, these moments remind me what Smart Dark Romance really means:
🔥 fire and meaning
💋 heat and truth
Your turn
So now I ask you:
👉 Should this chapter have stayed in the book?
👉 Or was I right to let it go?
Tell me in the comments — I’d love to know how you see it.
And if you’re just finding Noor City for the first time — this is only a taste. Step into the full story with When Mirrors Blink Red and discover the beginning of the Noor City Mafia Series.
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