Edward barely slept.
I know because when he showed up the next morning, his eyes were darker than usual, his jaw sharper, his energy tense like a man preparing for war.
And he was.
"Leah," he says, standing in my living room, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt with shaking hands, "today… everything ends."
I swallow. "You don't have to go alone."
He cups my face gently, brushing his thumb across my cheek.
"Yes, I do," he whispers. "Because this isn't about my father. Or Clarissa. Or their stupid arrangement."
His eyes burn into mine.
"It's about choosing you where everyone can see it."
My lungs tighten.
My heart stumbles.
I feel everything and nothing at once.
"Edward"
"I'm done hiding," he says firmly.
"No more secrets. No more compromises. No more pretending I belong to anyone but you."
And that's how I end up seated quietly inside his car, watching him drive, watching his fists clench the steering wheel, watching the storm gather behind his eyes.
He wasn't going alone.
I wasn't letting him.
He didn't argue.
He just squeezed my thigh, hard, grateful, needing my presence more than his pride.
Edward's father had called a "formal meeting," the kind of gathering where important families arrived in chauffeur-driven cars, where legacies were discussed, where alliances were formed, where the future of empires was decided in glass conference rooms with expensive coffee and colder emotions.
It wasn't a dinner.
It was a battlefield.
And Clarissa was already there.
Wearing a white dress that screamed innocence and a smile that screamed victory.
Her father stood beside her stern, wealthy, politically connected exactly the kind of man Edward's father wanted to impress.
Edward and I step inside, fingers brushing, but we don't hold hands.
Not yet.
Not until he's ready.
Multiple heads turn.
Whispers start.
And then Edward's father notices me.
The muscle in his jaw pulses once, sharply.
"Leah," he says in a tone that makes my spine straighten, "this is a private business meeting."
"She's with me," Edward says before I can speak.
His father's eyes flash. "We will discuss this ridiculous infatuation later. For now, we have important matters."
Clarissa beams like she just won.
I remain calm.
Because I know something they don't:
Today is not their victory.
Edward's father clears his throat and gestures to Clarissa and her father.
"As we all know, both families have agreed to move forward with the engagement"
"No," Edward says sharply.
Silence falls.
Heads whip toward him.
Even I inhale sharply.
Edward's father frowns. "Edward, we already discussed this. You will"
"I said no," Edward repeats, voice calm, cold, unshakable.
"And I'm not discussing anything."
Clarissa blinks rapidly. "Edward, sweetheart"
He turns to her.
And there is no softness in his eyes.
"Stop calling me that."
Her face cracks.
His father steps forward. "Edward, you will not embarrass this family"
"Then stop trying to control my life."
A ripple spreads through the room.
The kind of ripple that precedes an explosion.
Edward walks to the center of the room.
Every eye follows him.
He straightens his shoulders.
And then he looks directly at his father.
"I am not marrying Clarissa," he states clearly.
Gasps echo.
Clarissa trembles, red creeping up her neck.
Her father stiffens in shock.
Edward continues, voice steady and resolute:
"I never wanted this arrangement. Not before. Not now. Not ever."
"Edward!" his father snaps. "This is bigger than you"
"No," Edward cuts him off.
"For once, it's exactly about me."
Clarissa looks like she might faint.
Or kill someone.
"Don't do this," she whispers. "Not here. Not like this."
Edward turns to her slowly.
"Clarissa," he says, "you're beautiful. Smart. Ambitious. But you're not the woman I love."
Her eyes widen, filling with disbelief and panic.
She shakes her head. "You're just confused. Your father pressured you. You"
"I'm not confused," he says firmly.
"I've never been more certain in my life."
Her voice cracks.
"You're choosing… her?"
She spits the last word like poison.
Edward doesn't flinch.
"Yes."
She sways.
Her father steadies her.
Edward's father slams a hand on the table.
"You're ruining a strategic alliance!"
"No," Edward replies.
"I'm choosing my happiness over your business deal."
"You're being irrational!"
Edward laughs softly, bitterly.
"You know what's irrational? Expecting me to give up the only woman I've ever truly wanted just to polish your reputation."
My throat tightens.
I wasn't the only one stunned by his boldness.
Edward continues, voice rising:
"Leah is not a phase. She's not a mistake. She's not a weakness. She is the woman I want. The woman I love. And I will not let you or anyone else dictate what I'm allowed to feel."
The room is silent.
Completely stunned.
Even Clarissa.
Clarissa steps forward, tears glittering in her furious eyes.
"You're humiliating me," she chokes out.
"I'm telling the truth," Edward replies.
She clenches her fists.
"You came from nothing, Edward. Your father made you who you are. You owe him this."
"Owe him?" Edward echoes.
"For what money? A position? A name?"
He steps closer to her.
"I built myself. I worked harder than anyone here. I created my career. My success. My life. Not for him. And definitely not for you."
She gasps as if slapped.
Then her gaze flicks to me sharp, murderous.
"She's older," Clarissa spits.
"She's used. She's nothing compared to what I can offer!"
Edward takes a step that places him directly between us.
"Insult her again," he says quietly, "and you'll see how fast I stop being polite."
Clarissa freezes.
Her father pulls her back, embarrassed.
Edward's father glares at me with such intensity I almost feel it on my skin.
But I don't look away.
Not this time.
Edward turns to his father one last time.
"I won't be manipulated into a marriage I don't want. Not for our family name. Not for business. Not for fear. And not for your approval."
His father's face is red rage, disappointment, disbelief.
"You're throwing away everything."
"No," Edward says softly.
"I'm finally choosing something for myself."
He turns, walks toward me
and reaches for my hand.
This time, he takes it.
In front of everyone.
Gasps echo again.
But I don't care.
Because the warmth of his fingers threading through mine feels like the beginning of something unstoppable.
Edward lifts our joined hands, looks right into my eyes and then at everyone else.
"I choose her."
Clarissa lets out a strangled sob.
Her father quietly escorts her outshame coloring every step.
Edward's father stays frozen, too stunned to speak.
We walk out together.
Hand in hand.
Fearless.
Unapologetic.
Free.