This is my life.
And I don’t know if I just saved my family…
Or signed away me.
Chapter 30 - Julian
By the time Lucy leaves my office, my hands are shaking. Not visibly. Not in any way that would register to the men still standing in the room or the staff moving quietly beyond the glass walls. But inside, something is wrong.
Something has been wrong since the second she stepped out of the elevator.
I felt it before I saw her, that shift, that subtle awareness, like my body recognized her presence before my mind could assign it meaning. I don’t believe in instincts. I believe in preparation, leverage, and planning.
And yet.
She stood there in my doorway looking stunning and the first, unfiltered thought that hit me was:
I don’t want to do this like this.
That thought nearly undid me.
I almost stood up and told everyone to leave.
Almost asked Lucy if she was sure.
Almost told her we could wait.
Almost told her I would take care of her mother regardless.
Almost told her she didn’t need to give me herself in exchange for safety.
Almost dismantled the entire structure I’d spent weeks building.
Butalmostis a weakness.
Because once you let yourself imagine another path, you have to face why you want it.
And I am not prepared to interrogate why Lucy Bennett, standing ten feet from me, makes my pulse feel like it is trying to escape me.
She sat beside me at the table, close enough that I could feel her heat without touching her.
That proximity was a mistake. Her scent was inviting, familiar now, something floral but grounded, and it pulled at something in me I do not have language for. I kept my hands folded. Kept my posture neutral. Kept my eyes on the contract instead of on the way her lashes brushed her cheek when she read.
The way her eyes looked more gold than brown today.
The way...
I signed first.
That was deliberate.
If this was going to be done, it would be done cleanly.
When she picked up the pen, her fingers trembled.
Not enough for anyone else to notice. But enough for me.
She inhaled slowly before signing, like she was bracing herself for cold water.
