I press a kiss to his chest, right over his heart. "I love you too. Even though I shouldn't. Even though it's probably going to destroy me."
"I won't let anything destroy you," he says fiercely. "Not even me."
I want to believe him. Want to believe in this beautiful lie we're living.
So I close my eyes and let myself drift, safe in the arms of my beautiful monster, and pray that this happiness can last.
Even though I know, deep down, that all happiness built on lies eventually crumbles.
But tonight, I don't care.
Tonight, I choose the lie.
Tonight, I choose him.
Chapter 24 - Nathan
I can't sleep.
Eve is curled against me, her breathing soft and even, one hand resting on my chest. The city lights filter through the floor-to-ceiling windows, painting her skin in shades of silver and shadow.
She's beautiful like this. Peaceful. Mine.
But something's wrong.
I slip carefully from the bed, leaving her tangled in the sheets, and make my way to the observation room. The monitors flicker to life at my touch, showing every angle of the penthouse in crisp detail.
I pull up the bedroom feed and watch her sleep.
This used to bring me satisfaction. The cold pleasure of a collector admiring his most prized possession. The quiet certainty that she was exactly where she belonged.
Now, as I watch her shift in sleep, reaching for the space where I'd been, I feel something else entirely.
Terror.
The realization hits me like a physical blow, stealing the breath from my lungs. I grip the edge of the desk, my knuckles white.
I love her.
Not the obsessive need I've been calling love for years. Not the guilt-driven compulsion to protect Alex's sister. Not the satisfaction of claiming what I'd decided was mine.
I love her. Eve. The woman who sketches in the morning light and blushes when I whisper her name. The brilliant mindthat sees beauty in chaos. The soft heart she tries to hide beneath layers of strength.
I love her, and that means she has the power to destroy me.
The thought makes my hands shake. I've spent my entire adult life building walls, creating systems of control, ensuring that nothing and no one could ever touch me. I've made myself untouchable, invulnerable.
Until her.
On the screen, she sighs in her sleep, and my chest aches with something I can't name.
This isn't about control anymore. This isn't about atoning for Alex's death or keeping a promise to a ghost. This is real, raw, terrifying emotion that I can't manipulate or manage.
I run a hand through my hair, pacing the small room. What happens when she realizes the depth of what I've done? When she learns the full truth about the accident? When she understands that every moment of our relationship has been built on carefully constructed lies?
She'll leave. The certainty of it makes my stomach turn. She'll look at me with those green eyes and see not her protector, not her lover, but the monster who destroyed her entire world.
And I won't be able to stop her. Because love—real love—means she has power over me now.
