“A master and his submissive can have a strong bond,” I said carefully. “That’s not unusual.”
I paused. “But I know that’s not all of it.”
She nodded. “I went into it with my eyes open. I knew the rules before I ever said yes. But this—” She hesitated, searching for the right words. “This became more than I bargained for.”
She fell silent.
Then she spoke again.
“I caught feelings,” she admitted. “And then you—Sebastian Reid—asked me out.” A small, sad smile touched her lips. “For the first time, I thought maybe I could have something real. Something in the daylight.”
Her eyes glistened.
“But that meant giving up my master,” she finished. “And I didn’t know how to reconcile those two parts of my life without losing myself.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Mira, I’ve never been good at relationships,” I said quietly. “Because my needs don’t fit neatly into normal boxes.”
She watched me carefully, waiting for my excuse.
“I should have walked away the moment I suspected it was you,” I continued. “And again when I knew for sure.” My throat tightened.
She squeezed my hand.
“You needed this. I watched you day after day, let the voices in your head get the best of you.”
Her brows knit. “You watched me?”
I nodded. “Since the elevator,” I clarified quickly. “I noticed you. The way you doubt yourself. The way you hesitate even when you’re right.”
She didn’t pull away.
“I saw your colleagues get promotions that should have been yours,” I went on. “Not because you weren’t capable, but because you didn’t put yourself forward.”
“I wasn…”
I lifted a finger, resting it lightly against her lips. Not to silence her. Just to pause her.
“Mira,” I said softly. “You are not invisible.”
Her breath caught.
“I see you,” I continued. “At your desk, clicking your pen when the numbers don’t add up. When you’re close and you know it.”
She bit her lip, a shy smile breaking through.
“I wanted to help you,” I admitted. “Not fix you. Not control you. Just… show you what it feels like when the weight lifts for a moment. When you’re allowed to let go.”
Silence settled between us again.
“I went about this all wrong, but Mira, we fit together in so many ways.”
“In the light and the dark.” She smiled as she eased onto the side of the bed. “I thought I lost you.”
“I’m not that easy to get rid of.”
“You took a bullet for me.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
