The office was quiet.
Too quiet.
Aria glanced at the clock. 9:47 PM. Everyone else had left. The city outside glimmered under the rain, neon reflections dancing against the glass walls.
Dominic Vale was at his desk, sleeves rolled up just slightly, the glow of his laptop illuminating sharp features she had memorized in seconds — a habit she hated.
He looked… tired. Not the kind of tired after a long day. But the kind where the weight of the world presses against your chest and you wonder if you'll ever breathe freely again.
She cleared her throat softly.
"Everything okay, Mr. Vale?"
He didn't look at her immediately. Fingers paused over the keyboard, then he exhaled slowly.
"Do you want honesty or politeness?"
She hesitated, then whispered, "Honesty."
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "This merger… the Whitmore alliance… it isn't about love. Not for me. Not for Selene. It's political. Strategic. If it fails, everything I've built—Vale Industries, government contracts, my family's reputation—falls apart."
Her chest tightened. She wanted to reach out, but she stayed in her place, soft. Calm. "That's… a lot to carry alone."
He finally looked at her. Eyes darker in the dim light. Vulnerable in a way no one outside this room had ever seen. "Alone is exactly what I've been taught to be. No one can be trusted. No one should know the things I fear."
"Maybe… maybe you don't have to be," she said gently, voice soft enough that it made him flinch.
Her words floated between them, warm against the chill of the office. And then, for the first time since she'd arrived in his world, Dominic Vale crossed the line deliberately.
He stood, moving slowly toward her. Not menacing. Not rushed. Intentional.
Aria's breath hitched.
His hand lifted.
He didn't touch her immediately.
He let it hover at her wrist. His fingers just brushing her skin. Slight pressure. Intentional heat.
"You shouldn't be here," he murmured, low, almost a growl.
"I work for you," she whispered back, soft, steady.
"But not like this," he said.
The tension coiled between them. Electric. Dangerous. A predator and prey, yet neither fully aware which role they played.
Her pulse raced.
She stepped back instinctively, but the space was small, the office cramped. There was nowhere to go.
His other hand rose, brushing a strand of damp hair from her face. Fingers grazing her cheek. A deliberate choice.
The world outside the glass walls ceased to exist.
Her heartbeat thundered loud enough that she swore he could hear it.
"You're… not like anyone else," he said quietly, voice raw, more human than she'd ever heard it.
"Neither are you," she replied softly.
Then, impossibly close — their faces inches apart — his lips almost brushed hers.
Not an accident. Not a slip. Choice.
And just as the world seemed about to shatter around them…
The emergency lights flickered. The building's backup system hummed. The rain outside intensified.
Dominic stepped back.
Composed. Cold. Controlled.
"Later," he whispered.
Aria's knees felt weak. She didn't respond.
He left the office, leaving the door slightly ajar, leaving the heat, the tension, and a question she couldn't answer:
How much longer could she survive in this orbit without losing herself?