The doors close behind him, and it’s just Cal and me in this massive space.
“What are you doing here, Cal?” I ask softly, lifting my chin up.
He doesn’t try to touch me. “I needed to talk to you.”
I look down at his stubble already visible on his jaw, even though he probably shaved this morning. “You told me to go.”
He nods. “I did.”
Something disarms me in his tone and the way he’s so frank about this. “So, why are you here now?”
“Because I was wrong.”
My chest tightens, and I cross my arms over my chest, feeling protective. Because he has no idea how much power he has here. The power to break me and shatter me if he wants. And I’m vulnerable at his mercy.
“Oh, yeah?” I ask.
“You were right. I was using her as an excuse.”
“You were protecting your mom,” I counter. “And I get that.”
“I was hiding behind that,” he says. “I was afraid.” The honesty in his voice slices through me. “I thought if I braced for you leaving, it wouldn’t hurt me as much,” he continues. “I thought if I pushed you away first, you’d do what you needed to do, and I could control the hurt. It was dumb.”
Control. I understand control. I live it. A carefully curated and controlled world that I now realize I hate.
“And did it work for you?” I ask softly.
“No,” he says. “I just hurt you, and I’m so sorry, baby.”
My throat burns as he steps closer to me. He’s still giving me space. He’s waiting.
He moves closer to the table and away from me. “I came to do this right.”
I swallow at the word. Right. My whole life, I’ve been doing thingsright. I’ve been groomed to take over the family company since I was a teenager.
“Right how?” I whisper.
“Right for us,” he says. “What fits us. I’m here for you.”
He moves closer. “I don’t need you to give anything up. I need you to thrive, baby. I need you to fly and soar as high as you want to. I want you to know that I’ve got your back every step of the way. I’m right behind you. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
He finally closes the distance between us. “I just need you to be happy,” he says. “I need you to be you.”
He turns and gestures to the boardroom and the skyline beyond the glass. “You want to run this company forever? I’ve got you. You want to be the most powerful CEO this city has ever seen? I’ll stand behind you and clap the loudest. I’ll kick anyone’s ass who tries to get in your way.”
My eyes sting because I didn’t realize how badly I needed to hear this.
“You don’t want a family? Fine. I’ll be your family. You want to split your life between Coconut Beach and the city? I’ll pack up.”
He looks at me like I’m the only thing that matters to him. I’ve never been looked at like this. Chosen.
“And what doyouwant?”
He smiles. “I just want you, Silvie. All of you. CEO you. Beach you. Every version of you that you’ll give me. I want the whole damn thing.”
No one’s ever said anything like this to me before.
“You’re my wife,” he says softly. “And I came to get you back.”
