From somewhere down the corridor, the low babble of voices and the distant clang of weights from the training room drift through the walls. The familiar sounds of an ordinary workday should be comforting, but right now, they just feel far away.
I wait for relief to rush in, but it doesn’t. The realization of how close I came to losing everything I’ve built sinks in deep.
I always believed stability meant safety.
But in this moment, all I can feel is the fragility beneath it.
Maybe it was always there, and I just chose not to see it.
38
Oliver
I stare at Rina as we leave Hugh’s office, the heavy door closing behind us with a finality that rings throughout the hall.
Even though she didn’t lose her job, the meeting has left its mark. It’s there in the slope of her shoulders, the tight line of her mouth, the way she keeps her gaze fixed straight ahead, as if her mask might slip if she looks anywhere else.
I want to reach for her, to take some of the pressure off, but I don’t know how to touch her right now without pushing too hard.
My gaze stays pinned to her profile as we walk in silence. “Are you okay?”
She doesn’t glance at me, just gives a small shake of her head. “I don’t know. I feel kind of… numb.”
She keeps her composure, but her fingers tremble as she laces her hands together. It’s the only sign she’s hurting underneath all that control.
What she really needs is to be anywhere but here.
“Do you want me to take you home?”
Her gaze slices to mine for the briefest second, filled with determination even though I can see the tremor running beneath it.
Just when I think she might give in, she shakes her head. “No. I need to stay and get some work done.”
Of course that would be her response.
That’s what Rina does when she’s breaking. She hides behind her job until the cracks have been shored up.
Part of me wants to scoop her up, carry her out of this building, and lock the world away until she finds her equilibrium again. But I bite back the urge, knowing she needs to feel like she’s standing on her own.
“Are you sure?” I press gently, giving her one last out.
“Yeah, I am.” Her tone is quiet but steady, laced with a stubborn edge of steel that manages to twist something deep inside me with both pride and frustration.
“Okay.” I nod once, keeping my tone even. “I’ll swing by in a few hours to take you and Kia back to the penthouse.”
“That sounds good.” She takes a step toward her office before hesitating and glancing back over her shoulder. The corners of her lips tip up slightly, as if even that small movement costs her. “Thank you.”
The tight coil inside me eases just a little. “I’m always going to be here when you need me.”
Her throat works around a swallow, and her eyes shimmer with thoughts that remain unspoken before she slips inside her office. The hallway goes still as the door closes behind her. Even the steady rush of the vents sounds too loud. My hand twitches toward the handle before I catch myself. She needs space, not another person crowding her when she’s barely holding it together.
Even though it kills me to do so, I stay put.
I drag a hand through my hair and lean against the wall, the cool surface grounding me as I try to gather my thoughts. My gaze drifts to Rina’s office again, and the image of her walking away and shutting me out cuts deep.
I’m built for action.
For fixing what’s broken.
