The silence after Sienna's whisper feels thick enough to choke on.
Her "okay" hangs in the air like a fragile thing something Cyrus wants to protect with his life, even though he knows fragile things have a habit of breaking in his hands.
Her hand is still around his wrist.
Cyrus feels every beat of her pulse against his skin.
Soft. Rapid.
Terrified.
Not of him.
Of what's coming.
"Sienna," he says quietly, "sit down."
She doesn't argue. She sits on the edge of the leather chair, hands knotted together like she's trying to hold herself in place. Cyrus watches the movement recognizes it. Trauma doesn't always roar; sometimes it curls small and silent.
Damien shifts awkwardly near the door. "Uh… I'll go run the thermal—"
"No," Cyrus snaps. "Stay."
Damien freezes.
Sienna flinches.
Cyrus inhales hard. "Sorry. I… just stay."
Damien nods, eyes wide.
Cyrus turns back to Sienna.
"Tell me everything," he says. "Everything Kai ever said, ever hinted, ever did that felt off."
Sienna hesitates. "I don't… I don't know where to start."
He kneels.
Actually kneels.
Right in front of her, one knee down, hands on the armrests, caging her in so gently she could push him away with a single finger if she wanted.
She doesn't.
"Sienna," he murmurs, "you don't have to have the answers. Just talk. I'll connect the pieces."
Her breath shakes. "He came saying he wanted a collaboration between me and his company i think you alreadyknow that. Other than that there was nothing else i picked up.
Cyrus says, voice tight with restrained fury. "He's been watching you. He's been inside your office."
She closes her eyes like she's trying to block out a truth too sharp to touch.
Cyrus's jaw flexes.
He hates this.
Hates that she's scared.
Hates that she didn't trust him with it sooner.
Hates Kai.
But more than anything, he hates himself for not seeing it.
"I should've noticed," he mutters.
Sienna's eyes open fast, desperate. "Cyrus. Don't."
He lifts his gaze. The sincerity in her expression hits him harder than the gunfire yesterday.
"You can't blame yourself for this," she whispers.
"But I do."
"Don't." She leans forward, voice barely a breath. "Please."
Something dangerous flickers behind his eyes not anger, but something softer. Something he can't control.
He stands abruptly, like if he stays kneeling another second he might do something reckless, like pull her into his arms.
Damien steps forward cautiously. "Sir… I also found this."
He hands Cyrus a tablet.
There's a paused video on the screen.
Cyrus taps it.
The image fills the room:
Sienna. In her office. Weeks ago. Sitting by the window. Alone. Reading. Humming. Completely unaware the camera is recording her.
Sienna gasps, covering her heart with both hands as if it might fall out.
Cyrus's vision goes white around the edges.
He grips the tablet so hard the plastic creaks. "Turn it off."
Damien does.
Sienna looks like she wants to disappear.
"I didn't know," she whispers. "I didn't know he Cyrus, I didn't know."
He crosses the room in three long strides and crouches right in front of her again this time, he doesn't hesitate.
He places his hands on her knees, gentle but grounding.
"Sienna," he says, voice low, rough, deadly soft. "Look at me."
She lifts her eyes.
"You did nothing wrong."
Her lip trembles. Just slightly. Enough to break him.
He withdraws one hand, but only so he can take hers lacing their fingers together in a way he's never allowed himself to do.
Damien looks away, suddenly fascinated with the ceiling.
Cyrus whispers, "I should've burned his company the moment he looked at you."
"Cyrus…"
"No." His grip tightens. "I'm going to find him."
Her eyes widen in panic. "You said you wouldn't escalate yet."
"That was before," he says, voice dropping to something cold enough to make the room feel smaller. "Before I saw what he's been doing. Before I realized how long he's been inside your life."
Sienna's breathing goes uneven. "Cyrus, you promised."
He looks at her.
Really looks at her.
And his anger cracks.
Because she's shaking.
Because her past is catching up with her.
Because even though she's strong enough to face monsters, she's still haunted by the shadows they leave behind.
He exhales slowly.
"Okay," he says, softer. "I won't go after him."
Relief floods her body so visibly he almost pulls her into his arms on instinct.
"…yet."
She groans. "Cyrus..."
"I said yet. Not never."
Damien mutters under his breath, "That's the closest we'll get."
Cyrus shoots him a glare.
Then he turns back to her, lifting their joined hands.
His thumb glides over her knuckles slow, warm, protective.
"We're tightening security," Cyrus says. "You stay with me. You don't go anywhere alone. Not the hallways. Not the parking lot. Not your office. Not anywhere."
She raises an eyebrow faintly. "And if I argue?"
"You won't," he says softly.
"…and if I do?"
He leans in just enough that his breath brushes her cheek.
"Then I'll win."
A shiver runs down her spine.
And Cyrus feels it.
Feels everything.
Damien clears his throat loudly, trying to be helpful. "Uh. Should I… get the files? Run surveillance? Get coffee? Leave the continent?"
Cyrus doesn't look away from Sienna.
"Leave," he orders.
Damien flees.
The door clicks shut.
And the air between them tightens again electric, dangerous, intimate.
Sienna pulls her hand back, but only to rest it against his chest.
"Cyrus," she whispers, "what are we going to do?"
He covers her hand with his own.
His heartbeat is fast. Too fast.
But steady. For her.
"We're going to end this," he says. "On my terms."
"And until then?"
He steps closer.
Close enough that she tilts her head up, lips parting the tiniest bit.
"Until then," Cyrus murmurs, "you stay by my side."
Her breath catches.
"And you protect me?" she whispers.
He leans his forehead to hers, so soft she almost doesn't feel it.
"No," he says. "I guard you."
A subtle difference.
A terrifying one.
And Sienna realizes something:
This man isn't just protecting her anymore.
He's choosing her.
And everything that choice destroys.