The car sped away from the conference hall, the city lights blurring past the tinted windows. Ayla leaned her head back, pressing her fingertips gently against her temple like she could rub the ache from her heart. Elise sat beside her, saying nothing — just occasionally glancing over with motherly concern. Jean was quiet too, eyes set on the road ahead, his hands clenching the steering like it had wronged him.
But Ayla was in her own storm.
She kept replaying it — not the speech she gave, not the smiles, not even the applause. Just that moment.
The moment she turned and saw him — Leon.
His eyes were a battlefield: stormy, raw, desperate. And for a second, her composure cracked. For a second, she almost ran to him. She almost forgot who she had become and who she now belonged to.
But then Maureen kissed him.
Not a romantic kiss — but one that felt like a knife to Ayla's chest all the same.
She didn't cry. She didn't shout. She didn't even let the pain show beyond the faintest falter of her smile.
Still, it burned.
She thought she was over it — over him. She told herself repeatedly that her heart belonged to Damien now. Damien, who stood by her through fire and lies. Damien, who never once asked for anything more than what she could give. He never made her feel like she had to choose between being loved and being whole.
And yet, here she was… aching.
"I'm fine," she said, more to herself than to the others.
Elise squeezed her hand gently. "You don't have to pretend with us."
"I'm not," Ayla murmured. "I just… I can't let him hold me down anymore."
Elise gave her a look — soft, unsure — but she said nothing more.
Back at the house, Ayla went straight to her room. She changed into her hoodie and sat by the window, staring into the night like it held answers.
She kept whispering it under her breath like a spell.
"I'm with Damien now."
She said it again.
And again.
But her heart refused to echo it back.
NICO & KALEN
Hours earlier…..,
The clock ticked past midnight when Nico finally got the call confirming Damien had landed in another city — for a "business deal" that never truly existed.
He hung up, glancing at Kalen who sat across the room, fiddling with a pen.
"You sure he bought it?" Kalen asked, voice low.
"Hook, line, and suitcase," Nico muttered. "He thinks it's a major opportunity. One of my guys staged the whole meeting request. He'll be too busy for the next two weeks at least"
Kalen gave a quiet nod, then looked away, jaw clenched.
"This feels wrong," he admitted. "I mean… Damien's a good guy."
Nico poured himself a drink, shrugged. "Maybe. But he's not her guy. Not really."
"She chose him."
"She chose safety," Nico corrected. "She's been through hell. Of course she'd choose the man who held her hand through it. But if she never gets a chance to remember how she used to feel…"
"She'll move on. And Leon will snap."
Silence stretched between them.
Neither of them truly liked Maureen. And both knew the kind of man Leon had been before Ayla. How ruthless. How cold. Nico had watched Leon change — soften — grow. And he couldn't stomach the thought of that version of Leon disappearing.
"He deserves one last shot," Nico said quietly.
Kalen nodded. "Then let's make sure he gets it."
Unbeknownst to Leon… and to Ayla… the next move had already been made.
And all that was left was whether either of them would take the chance before it was too late.