The drive back from the conference hall was quiet, but it wasn't peaceful.
City lights blurred past the tinted windows as Elena sat rigidly in her seat, replaying the night in her head. Victor's silence pressed against her more heavily than his words ever had.
She broke first.
"You embarrassed me," she said softly.
Victor didn't look at her. "You embarrassed yourself."
Her chest tightened. "I needed space."
"And I needed control," he replied evenly. "In my world, those two things rarely coexist."
She turned toward him. "Then why keep me here?"
That finally made him look at her.
His gaze was sharp, searching, unguarded in a way she hadn't seen before. "Because letting you go would be the greater mistake."
The car pulled into the mansion driveway. Victor dismissed the driver and stepped out, offering no hand. Elena followed, her emotions tangled and raw.
Inside, instead of heading toward the stairs, Victor turned down a different corridor.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"My office," he said. "This conversation isn't finished."
The door closed behind them with a firm click.
Victor didn't sit. He removed his jacket slowly, deliberately, placing it over the chair. The gesture felt intimate, intentional.
"You challenged me tonight," he said. "Publicly."
"I didn't mean to"
"You meant to," he interrupted calmly. "And that's why I'm not angry."
She frowned. "You're not?"
"No." He stepped closer. "I'm interested."
Her heart skipped.
"You could have stayed silent," he continued. "You could have played the obedient role. Instead, you pushed back."
"Because I'm not a thing," she said quietly.
"I know," he replied immediately. "That's why this is complicated."
Silence fell between them, thick and charged.
Victor turned away, resting his hands on the desk. "Camilla was a calculated presence. I let her stay close to see how you would react."
Elena stiffened. "You used her to test me?"
"Yes," he admitted without apology. "And you failed beautifully."
Her breath caught. "Failed?"
"You didn't hide," he said, turning back to her. "You didn't pretend indifference. You reacted. That tells me something."
"What?" she whispered.
"That you care," he said simply.
Her chest tightened painfully. "That doesn't mean"
"It means everything," he cut in. "In my world, emotions are liabilities. But they're also leverage."
She swallowed. "So what am I to you? Leverage?"
Victor studied her for a long moment, then shook his head slowly. "You're a variable I didn't account for."
He stepped closer too close.
"I don't like unpredictability," he said quietly. "But I've decided something."
Her pulse roared in her ears. "What?"
"I'm no longer hiding you."
Her eyes widened. "Hiding me from what?"
"From the truth," he said. "From my world. From my enemies. From women like Camilla."
Elena stared at him. "Why?"
"Because pretending you don't matter only makes you a weakness," he replied. "Acknowledging you makes you protected."
The word sent a strange warmth through her chest.
"You'll attend events openly," he continued. "At my side. No ambiguity. No whispers."
"And what do I get to decide?" she asked.
Victor paused. Then, surprisingly, "You decide how far this goes."
Her heart skipped violently. "You're giving me a choice?"
"I'm giving you control," he said. "Limited. But real."
She laughed softly, disbelieving. "That's new."
"Don't get used to it," he said. "But understand this once I choose, I don't back away."
He reached out, stopping just short of touching her face.
"This isn't about contracts anymore," he said quietly. "This is about intent."
Elena's voice trembled. "And your intent is…?"
"To claim what's already becoming mine," he said, honest and unflinching.
Her breath hitched, emotions warring inside her—fear, desire, defiance, longing.
"And if I say no?" she asked.
Victor's gaze softened just slightly. "Then I let you walk away."
She searched his face, trying to find the lie.
There wasn't one.
"That's dangerous," she whispered.
"Yes," he agreed. "For both of us."
The room felt too small. Too intimate.
"I need time," she said finally.
Victor nodded. "You have it."
He stepped back, restoring distance with visible effort.
"Go," he said. "But understand this, Elena—once you say yes, there's no returning to the illusion of distance."
She turned toward the door, heart pounding.
As she reached for the handle, his voice stopped her.
"You challenged me," he said softly. "And instead of punishing you… I chose you."
She left the office trembling, knowing one thing for certain:
Victor Hale had crossed a line of his own.
And nothing between them would ever be simple again.