Someone had sent Antonio lunch that afternoon.
It arrived neatly packed in an expensive container, the kind that suggested thoughtfulness… or intention.
Antonio barely glanced at it before taking a bite.
Within minutes, his breathing changed.
His throat tightened. His chest felt heavy. His skin began to itch violently as he staggered back from the desk, knocking over a chair.
Melissa noticed instantly. The color drained from her face.
"Antonio—" she rushed to him, dropping everything.
Shrimp.
She recognized the scent immediately.
No one in the company knew about his allergy. No one except her.
Chloe had already stepped forward in panic, but Melissa quickly intercepted.
"Go outside," she said firmly. "Now."
Chloe hesitated. "But—"
"Please," Melissa whispered, her voice breaking. "Trust me."
Once Chloe left, Melissa locked the door.
Her hands trembled as she helped Antonio sit on the couch. His breathing was shallow, his lips beginning to pale.
"I… can't…" he whispered.
"Look at me," she said softly, fighting tears. "Stay with me, I won't let anything happen to you."
Antonio tried to smile. "Didn't think… lunch would be the thing that kills me."
"Don't joke," she said softly, fighting tears.
She reached into her bag and pulled out the emergency medication she always carried for him — something she had never told him she kept.
She injected it carefully, whispering his name over and over like a prayer.
"Look at me, Antonio. Breathe with me. Please."
Gradually, his chest began to rise more evenly. The tension in his body loosened. His eyes fluttered weakly.
Melissa pulled him into her arms without thinking.
She held him tightly, one hand in his hair, the other against his back, feeling his heartbeat slowly return to normal.
"It's okay now," she whispered, her voice breaking. "You're safe."
Antonio's body finally relaxed against hers.
His breathing softened, and within minutes, he fell asleep in her arms — exhausted, fragile, and unaware of how close he had come to losing everything.
Melissa didn't move. She stayed there, holding him, tears silently sliding down her cheeks.
Because in that moment, she realized something terrifying. Whoever had sent that lunch hadn't made a mistake.
They had known exactly what they were doing.
Antonio stirred first. His lashes fluttered, confusion clouding his eyes before awareness slowly returned.
The first thing he felt was warmth… soft, steady, human.
Melissa.
Her arms were still wrapped around him, protective even in sleep.
Her head rested against the side of the couch, her face pale, her lips slightly parted from exhaustion.
Antonio tried to move, but the motion made her shift.
Her eyes opened instantly.
"Antonio…" she breathed.
He swallowed. "I'm… alive?"
She let out a shaky laugh that instantly turned into tears. "Don't ever joke like that."
Only then did he realize where he was — in her arms, being held like someone precious. Someone loved.
He tried to sit up. "You didn't let her see," he murmured.
She shook her head. "No one gets to know your weakness. Not in your world."
Antonio studied her.
"You protected me."
She swallowed. "That's what you do when you care about someone."
Silence settled between them.
"You shouldn't carry this alone," he said quietly.
She met his gaze. "Neither should you."
He reached out and gently held her wrist.
"In this world," he whispered, "men die when their enemies discover their weakness."
Melissa leaned closer.
"Then let me be the only one who knows," she said. "Not as your assistant. Not as your right hand. As the person who refuses to let you fall."
Antonio closed his eyes briefly, emotion flickering across his face.
"You just became more dangerous to my enemies than any weapon I own," he said.
She smiled faintly through tears.
"And you just proved you're human."
Their closeness made his heart beat faster, though his body was still weak.
The door handle moved.
Chloe.
The door was locked.
Chloe frowned outside. She knocked. "Melissa? Why is the door locked?"
Melissa froze.
Antonio looked at her, instantly sensing tension.
"Just a minute," Melissa called, forcing calm into her voice.
Chloe didn't leave. Her instincts were already awake.
She leaned closer to the door. "Is Antonio inside?"
Melissa didn't answer. That silence told Chloe everything.
She crossed her arms. "Melissa, open the door now."
Inside, Melissa slowly helped Antonio sit properly.
"You shouldn't be seen like this," Antonio whispered.
"I don't care," she replied softly.
But she still stood, walked to the door, and unlocked it.
Chloe stepped in — and stopped.
Her eyes immediately landed on Antonio, pale and tired.
Then they moved to Melissa's trembling hands. Then to the medication vial still on the table.
"What happened?" Chloe asked slowly.
"He fainted due to exhaustion," Melissa said.
Chloe's gaze sharpened. "Exhaustion? From lunch?"
"Yes."
"I don't trust you."
Melissa didn't respond. Chloe's suspicion deepened.
"Sir you have a meeting with the manager from the golden Skyrim this afternoon "
The room fell silent.
Antonio looked between them.
Chloe let out a quiet laugh — not amused, not angry — just full of realization. "Are you both having an affair?."
"So that's it," she murmured. "That's why you always watch him. That's why you're always near him. That's why he takes you out on business."
Melissa's eyes filled with confusion. "Chloe, please…"
Chloe shook her head slowly. "You're in love with him."
Antonio's breath caught.
Melissa denys it. "You've got it all wrong"
Chloe exhaled sharply. "And yet they said I was over thinking things."
Her eyes darkened with fear and desperation.
"This wasn't a coincidence, The locked door, him pretending to faint. It's just so I could leave the room for your disgusting act" Chloe said firmly.
"And now I know… The reason why you're the only one he trusts."
"He trusts me because I'm good at what I do"
"Good at sucking his dick" Chole said."
"That enough. I watched you talk shit but I won't let you disrespect Melissa " Antonio's voice rose in anger.
She turned to Antonio.
"I knew you were a cheat but I never expected you to stoop so low"
"Get the hell out of here. Now!" Antonio said. Chloe scoffs before leaving.
He looked at Melissa and for the first time, he realized —He hadn't survived because of luck.
He had survived because of her.
Melissa dragged Antonio to the hospital despite the fact that he insisted he was fine.
The room was silent except for the steady beep of the heart monitor.
Antonio sat upright on the hospital bed, his expression no longer weak, no longer vulnerable.
Whatever softness Melissa had seen in him was gone. In its place was something colder. Sharper. Dangerous.
Melissa had called Roberto to help her.
Roberto stood before Antonio, holding a file.
"We found the sender."
Antonio's eyes lifted slowly. "Say the name."
Roberto swallowed. "Isabella Conti."
Antonio exhaled a low, humorless laugh.
Isabella. His former lover.
The woman who once swore she would die for him… and now had tried to kill him.
"She knew about the shrimp allergy," Roberto continued.
"She ordered the meal personally under a false name."
Antonio's jaw tightened.
"She didn't want me frightened," he said quietly. "She wanted me dead."
Antonio didn't involve the authorities.
He went to her himself.
Isabella broke down the moment she saw him standing in her doorway, alive.
"You were supposed to die…" she whispered.
Antonio stepped inside and closed the door.
"You loved me once," he said calmly. "And now you tried to murder me."
Tears streamed down her face.
"You left me! You replaced me with your empire!"
He moved closer, his presence crushing.
"No," he said coldly. "I outgrew you."
Her legs trembled.
"I could forgive betrayal," he continued. "I could forgive hatred. But I will never forgive an attempt on my life."
Within days: Her businesses collapsed.
Her allies abandoned her. Her reputation was destroyed.
Every door in high society closed to her. Antonio didn't touch her. He erased her.
And when it was over, he sent her one final message:
You tried to bury me. I taught you how graves are made.
Days passed Chloe had been watching.
The way Melissa stayed late.
The way Antonio's voice softened only when he spoke to her.
The way he trusted her with his weakest moments.
It wasn't normal it wasn't professional. It was intimacy and Chloe couldn't ignore it anymore.
So she went to her parents.
"They're having an affair," she said firmly.
Her mother's face paled. Her father's expression darkened.
"I saw Melissa lock the door with him. I saw the way he held her. That wasn't business."
Her mother whispered, "If this is true… Melissa has destroyed her future."
Melissa felt it before she heard it.
The whispers, the looks. The distance and Antonio noticed too.
"They're turning against you," he said quietly.
Melissa was calm. "I don't really care. It's not the first time people judge me."
Antonio reached for her hand.
"Then let me protect you," he said.
But outside that room judgment was already coming.