Valerie's breath hitched the moment Alexander stepped through the threshold. His towering frame dominated the room, but it wasn't just his presence—it was the way his eyes locked onto hers like she was the only thing that mattered. He hadn't said a word, but she could feel the air thicken with all the unsaid emotions swimming beneath his cool facade.
"Why did you come back?" Her voice trembled, betraying the resolve she had tried to gather in the silence of waiting.
Alexander didn't answer immediately. He removed his coat slowly, never once taking his eyes off her. "Because I couldn't stay away."
Valerie blinked, heart lurching. That wasn't what she expected. Not from the man who'd spent the last week running cold, retreating behind layers of distance and duty.
"I told myself this was just a contract," he continued, voice low and measured. "I told myself it didn't matter. That you didn't matter."
Her chest tightened.
"But every time I tried to convince myself of that lie," he stepped closer, "I heard your laugh echo in my head. I remembered how you look when you sleep—peaceful, like the world outside couldn't touch you. And I realized I've already broken the contract. Not legally. Emotionally."
She didn't know when the tears had started, but her cheeks were wet. "You hurt me, Alexander. You pushed me away when all I did was try to understand you."
"I know," he said simply. "And I regret it."
Silence stretched between them for a moment, raw and heavy.
He walked to her slowly, stopping just inches away. "Valerie, I can't promise I'll be perfect. Hell, I might mess this up again. But I want to try—really try—not because of a piece of paper or a business deal. But because somewhere along the way, you became the most important part of my life."
Her lip quivered. She wanted to believe him. Wanted to reach out and touch him. But something held her back.
"Then why didn't you fight for me sooner?" she whispered.
He lowered his gaze, ashamed. "Because I didn't know how. I've built walls my whole life, Valerie. And you… you're the first person who made me want to tear them down. But I was scared. Scared that once I did, you'd see all the broken parts of me and walk away."
She stepped forward now, slowly reaching for his hand. "You forget… I've seen those parts. And I stayed."
The weight of her words settled over him like a balm. His hand tightened around hers.
"You really mean that?" he asked, voice gravelly.
She nodded. "But I need time, Alexander. We can't go back to pretending this is a perfect fairy tale. I need to know that when you say you care, it's not temporary."
"It's not," he said. "It never was."
Their eyes locked again, and for the first time in weeks, Valerie saw a vulnerability in him he had never allowed to show.
"I want to take you out tomorrow," he said suddenly.
She blinked. "What?"
"A real date. No obligations. No pretending. Just us."
Her lips tugged into the smallest of smiles. "Are you capable of that, Mr. CEO?"
His brow lifted, and a smirk ghosted across his face. "You'd be surprised what I'm capable of when it comes to you."
She shook her head lightly, laughing despite herself. "Fine. But if you show up in a suit and talk mergers, I'm leaving you at the restaurant."
He grinned, and for the first time, it reached his eyes. "Deal."
The mood shifted slightly, the tension easing, replaced with something lighter, more hopeful.
He reached up, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You've changed me, Valerie. I never thought I'd say this, but… I don't want to be cold anymore."
Her heart fluttered, hearing words she once thought would never escape his lips.
"I don't want you to be," she whispered. "I just want the real you."
He leaned in slowly, his lips brushing hers in the softest, most delicate kiss—like a promise, not a demand. She melted into him, and for a brief, beautiful second, it felt like the world had finally aligned.
When they pulled apart, he rested his forehead against hers. "Tomorrow. Seven. No suits."
"No suits," she agreed, her smile reaching all the way to her eyes.
As he turned to leave, something told her things wouldn't be easy. But maybe, just maybe, they'd be worth it.
And this time, she wouldn't be the only one trying.
Nina's hand hovered over the door handle, her heart caught somewhere between dread and desperate hope. She hadn't meant to hear their conversation, but now that she had, there was no unknowing it. Sebastian's words echoed in her mind—broken pieces of his pain, his guilt, and his fear of losing her.
She stepped back into the hallway, her footsteps light but determined. When she finally entered the living room again, her face was calm, but her chest burned with too many emotions to name.
Sebastian stood up the moment he saw her. "Nina—"
"We need to talk," she interrupted softly, her eyes scanning the room before settling on him. "Alone."
Maya took the cue immediately, her gaze flickering from Nina to Sebastian. She nodded politely and walked toward the door. "I'll be at the café around the corner. Call me if you need anything."
Once Maya was gone, silence fell over them like a thick blanket. Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.
"You meant what you said?" she asked finally, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "About pushing me away so I wouldn't get caught in the mess you think you are?"
He exhaled sharply. "Nina, I— Yes. I meant it. Not because I want to lose you, but because I don't know how to be the man you deserve. I've done things… things that haunt me. And I can't let them drag you down."
She took a step closer, her voice trembling but fierce. "You don't get to decide what I deserve, Sebastian. I've seen the man behind the cold exterior. I've felt your warmth, your kindness—even when you tried to hide it. And if you think I'm walking away now, then you don't know me at all."
His jaw tightened, eyes fixed on hers. "You don't understand what being with me comes with."
"Then explain it to me!" she snapped. "You keep hiding pieces of yourself like you're trying to protect me, but all it's doing is pushing me away. If you want me to be part of your life, then let me in."
The air between them crackled with tension. Sebastian looked torn—between the instinct to protect her and the need to hold onto her.
He sat down heavily on the couch and gestured for her to sit across from him. She did.
"I wasn't always this version of myself," he began, his voice low. "After my parents died, I threw myself into building the company—trying to fill the void, trying to prove something. I made decisions. Ruthless ones. I cut off emotions, connections, distractions. And somewhere along the way, I forgot how to live outside that cold armor."
Nina listened in silence, her heart aching with every word.
"But then you came in like a wildfire," he continued, his eyes softening. "Unapologetically honest. Bright. And suddenly, I was thinking about things I hadn't let myself want in years. Laughter. Safety. Love. And that scared me."
"Why?" she asked, leaning closer.
"Because if I let myself love you," he whispered, "you'd become my greatest weakness. And I didn't think I could afford to have one."
Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them away. "You're not weak for loving someone, Sebastian. You're human. And guess what? So am I. I get scared too. I've been hurt, abandoned, overlooked. But I still choose to stay. Not because it's easy, but because you're worth it."
He reached for her hand, hesitant at first, then firm. "I don't want to lose you."
"Then stop trying to," she whispered.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence was no longer heavy—it was filled with mutual understanding, a fragile but genuine truce.
Finally, he said, "Come back to the house."
She smiled, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Only if you promise to stop running every time things get hard."
"I promise," he said, then added, "You'll have to be patient with me."
"I can do that," she replied, rising to her feet. "But just so you know, I'm not going to let you retreat into that cold CEO mode again. You're stuck with me now."
He laughed, a rare, genuine sound that warmed the room. "Deal."
As they left together, Sebastian's fingers interlaced with hers, holding tighter than before—not out of fear, but conviction. And for the first time in a long while, Nina felt like she was exactly where she was meant to be.