The rain came down harder that night, tapping relentlessly against the glass like fingers trying to get in.
Elena stood at the balcony, her arms wrapped around herself as if to hold something broken together. Her silk nightgown clung to her skin from the damp air. She had left the doors open on purpose—maybe hoping the cold would numb the ache inside her chest.
Behind her, the room remained dimly lit. Aiden hadn't come back yet. After the call. After the truth.
She didn't cry.
Crying felt like surrender.
But she couldn't stop thinking about what he had said. That he'd married her as a shield.
Not as a partner. Not as a lover.
Just... protection.
And yet, when he touched her earlier, it hadn't felt like politics. It hadn't felt like strategy.
It felt real.
She hated that she wanted it to be real.
"Elena."
She turned sharply.
He was standing by the doorway now, damp from the rain, jacket thrown over his arm, collar unbuttoned. There was tension in his jaw, but something else in his eyes—uncertainty.
"You left the doors open," he said, voice lower than usual.
"I needed air."
"You'll catch a cold."
"Would that bother you?" she asked.
A pause.
"Yes."
He walked in slowly, like he was unsure of his place in the room—in her world. For once, Aiden Blackwood looked like a man without a map.
"I didn't mean to hurt you," he said.
"You didn't hurt me," she replied too quickly.
"Elena…"
She turned away again, refusing to meet his gaze.
"You said I was just a shield. That I was convenient," she whispered. "But you keep looking at me like I'm more than that."
He took a step closer. "Maybe I was wrong to say it out loud."
"Or maybe you meant it more than anything."
Another step. "I didn't bring you into my world because I needed a wife. That's true. But the moment you walked in, everything... shifted."
Her heart pounded louder than the rain.
He was behind her now, so close she could feel his breath on her neck.
"I don't know how to be soft, Elena," he said. "I was raised in fire. I learned to survive by not feeling."
"And now?" she whispered.
"I feel too much."
His hand brushed her shoulder. Light. Careful.
She didn't move away.
"Do you want me to leave?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"Elena, look at me."
She did.
And in that moment, everything that had been buried beneath silence and sarcasm and power struggles came to the surface.
She reached up and placed her hand against his chest—his heart was racing as wildly as hers.
"I don't want to be a pawn," she said.
"Then don't be," he answered. "Be the one who flips the board."
And he kissed her.
Not with dominance or fire.
But with restraint.
As if she were made of something that could shatter.
Her arms wrapped around him slowly, uncertain, until she realized...
She didn't care about the game anymore.
She just wanted to feel something that was hers.
The kiss deepened.
But just as it turned into hunger, he pulled back.
"I need to show you something," he said breathlessly.
She blinked. "Now?"
He nodded. "It can't wait."
He reached for her hand and led her through the dim corridors of the mansion, past wings she hadn't seen before. His grip was tight, but not harsh.
Finally, he stopped in front of a tall iron door.
He entered a code. The lock clicked open.
The lights flickered on inside.
It was a vault.
But not of gold or money.
Of secrets.
Newspapers. Photos. Files. Dozens—hundreds.
Everything meticulously organized.
Elena's eyes widened as she stepped in.
"What is this?" she asked, voice hushed.
"My insurance," he replied. "On everyone who's ever tried to destroy me."
"And you're showing me this because...?"
"Because I need you to understand that what we're in… isn't just personal. It's dangerous. If someone finds out what you are to me—what you're becoming—it could put a target on your back."
She looked around, overwhelmed.
"But this is obsession," she said.
"It's survival," he corrected.
"And me?"
"You're the only variable I can't predict."
She turned to him, heart heavy.
"I didn't come into your life to become another asset."
"I know."
"Then what am I?"
He stepped closer again.
"You're the only thing I don't want to control."