Chapter Ten: All In or Nothing
The city never stopped moving—but I had.
I stood on the rooftop of Wolfe Tower, wind tangling my hair, heart pounding against my ribs like it was trying to escape. Below, the world kept spinning. Traffic lights blinked in the dusk. Horns blared. Life continued, oblivious to the storm inside me.
Behind me, the door creaked open.
Footsteps.
I didn't turn.
I didn't have to.
"You left the gala," Damon said quietly.
"I couldn't breathe." My voice was raw.
He moved beside me, staring out over the city with me like we were both trying to figure out how we got here. Suits and stares. Secrets and nights too short for the things we didn't say.
"They were whispering about us," I said. "Again."
"I know."
"I didn't care this time."
That surprised him. I felt it in the way he shifted.
"You told me once," I continued, "that you built your life around control. I used to envy that. But now I think it's just another kind of cage."
He looked at me then, and in his eyes, I saw the man he tried to hide—the lonely boy who'd clawed his way to the top so no one would ever be able to look down on him again.
"I've been selfish," he admitted. "I wanted you, but I didn't want the consequences. I thought I could have both."
"I didn't need your protection, Damon," I whispered. "I needed your honesty."
He stepped closer. "Then here it is: I'm in love with you. No more silence. No more pretending. I want to be with you. In the open. Loudly. Messily. Entirely."
Tears welled in my eyes. "You're not afraid anymore?"
"I am. Terrified." He smiled, just a little. "But I'm more afraid of waking up one day and realizing you've built a life without me in it."
I turned to face him fully now. The wind pulled at his tie, at the edges of his perfectly composed image—and for once, he didn't fix it.
"I don't want a secret," I said.
"Then we won't be one."
"I don't want to lose myself in your world."
"Then I'll make space for you in it. Or I'll build a new one."
I laughed, and it broke something open inside me. "You sound insane."
"Only when I look at you."
And then he kissed me.
It was different this time.
No hesitation. No guilt. Just the kind of kiss that rewrites history. That makes you forget how things used to be. The kind that says, I found home—and it's you.
When we broke apart, the city lights danced in his eyes.
"I resigned this morning," I said.
Shock flickered across his face.
"I got a new offer," I added. "A nonprofit startup. Less money. More impact. They want me to build their strategic team from the ground up."
"And you took it?"
"I did."
He nodded slowly. "You're still walking away."
"I'm walking toward something," I said gently. "Something that's mine. But that doesn't mean I'm walking away from you."
I reached for his hand.
"We just can't be boss and assistant anymore, Damon. We have to be real. Equals. Partners."
His fingers curled around mine, warm and solid.
"Then let's stop playing roles," he said. "Let's just be us."
The wind roared around us. The city roared back. But in that moment, it didn't matter.
There were no contracts. No company hierarchies. No enemies. No games.
Just two broken people choosing each other in a world that never made it easy.
And maybe… that was the most powerful love story of all.
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Epilogue – Six Months Later
The coffee shop was small, messy, and absolutely perfect.
Lina sat at the corner table with her laptop open, sleeves rolled up, hair tied loosely at the back of her neck. Damon walked in late—of course—wearing jeans and a plain black T-shirt. No bodyguards. No boardrooms. Just him.
She looked up and smiled.
He kissed her forehead and sat beside her, reaching for her hand like it was second nature now.
"Board meeting go okay?" she asked.
"Boring without you in it."
She laughed. "That's probably for the best."
And they sat there, in a moment that didn't need fireworks or grand declarations.
Just quiet, undeniable certainty.
They'd made it.
Not perfect.
But real.
Together.
THE END