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He looks at me again.

"So I stopped leaving things to chance."

I think about the security around me. The guards. The orders. The way he tries to put his body between mine and every threat.

"You built your life around control."

"I built everything around it."

"Your empire."

"My empire. My relationships. My men. My routines." His expression hardens slightly. "If something could hurt me, I either controlled it or removed it."

"And then you hired me."

"Yes."

I smile faintly. "Catastrophic administrative error."

"The worst."

"Yet strangely entertaining."

His gaze remains on mine.

"Then you became something I couldn't control without changing what I wanted to keep."

The smile disappears from my face. Adrianos leans forward, resting his forearms against the table.

"I can order men to protect you. I can kill anyone who comes for you. I can buy buildings, close roads, change security systems, and put enough guards around you that you can't walk ten feet without seeing a weapon."

"Please don't."

"I know."

That matters more than the words should.

"But I can't make you stay," he continues. "Not without turning you into someone you aren't."

I swallow. Last night he tried to send me away because he loved me. Tonight he's finally understanding that loving me means he can't.

"You're the most uncontrollable variable I've ever allowed into my life."

"Allowed?"

His eyebrow lifts.

I concede the point. "Fine. Continue before I become offended."

"I didn't allow you. You happened."

"That's slightly better."

"And you've been ruining my plans ever since."

I smile. "That sounds more accurate."

He stands.