The night was quiet, the kind of heavy silence that felt like it was waiting to be broken.
Alina stood at the edge of the balcony, the cold stone railing biting into her palms. Below her, the city lights shimmered like scattered dreams-so close, yet impossibly far.
Her heart was a storm behind her ribs.
She had faced boardrooms full of sharks, headlines full of lies, men who only wanted her money-but this?
This betrayal felt personal.
The worst part? She wasn't even sure it was betrayal. Jesse's eyes hadn't lied tonight. His voice hadn't trembled from guilt-it had trembled from something far more dangerous.
Emotion.
"Alina."
She didn't turn. She didn't have to. Naomi's voice was the only one she ever let into the quiet.
"You should be asleep," Alina said softly.
Naomi came to stand beside her, not pushing, just there. "So should you."
They stood in silence for a moment, the wind tugging gently at Alina's hair.
"I was falling for him," she whispered, finally. "And I didn't even see it happening."
Naomi didn't react, just waited.
"I let him touch my world, Naomi. Ours. The house, the clothes, the damn art." She laughed bitterly. "I danced with him."
"And for a moment," Naomi said, "you were happy."
Alina looked over. "That's what makes it worse."
Naomi's eyes softened. "That's what makes it real."
Alina swallowed, her voice fragile. "Do you think it's possible? That he meant it?"
"I think it scares you more that he did," Naomi said gently. "You're Alina Sterling. You're untouchable. But tonight? You were just a woman with someone who saw you."
Alina's throat tightened. "I don't know if I can forgive him."
"You don't have to. But maybe-just maybe-you should ask yourself one question."
Alina turned to her.
Naomi looked straight at her. "Was he the first person you wanted to forgive?"
Silence.
And then a single tear slip
ped down Alina's cheek.
She didn't wipe it away.