Chapter 3: The Breaking Point

Vanessa's POV

I know it's wrong the second I see Derek's name on the private booking list. Twenty thousand dollars again, same room, requesting me specifically. My hands shake as I stare at the schedule and I should cancel, should tell the manager I'm sick, should do anything except walk into that room.

But I don't. Because three days have passed since we were tangled together on the floor of our old house and I haven't been able to think about anything else. The way he touched me, the way he said he'd burn his company down for me, the look in his eyes when I told him about the baby.

Marcus notices me staring at the schedule. "You okay? You've been off since that incident the other night."

"I'm fine," I lie, forcing a smile. Marcus has been my security at the club for eight months now, always professional, always protective. He doesn't need to know that the man he punched is back and I'm about to see him again.

"If that guy shows up again—"

"He won't," I cut him off, even though that's exactly what's about to happen. "I'm fine, Marcus. Really."

He doesn't look convinced but he lets it go, and at eleven PM I'm walking down that hallway again, my heart pounding so hard I think it might break through my ribs.

I open the door and Derek is already there, sitting on the couch in an expensive suit with that same intense look that's always undone me. The cut on his lip has healed but there's still a faint bruise on his jaw.

"You came," he says, standing up.

"You paid." I close the door behind me and suddenly we're alone again and all the air gets sucked out of the room. "What are you doing here, Derek?"

"You left before we could finish our conversation." He takes a step toward me and I should back away but I don't. "You said you'd explain why you ran out."

"I had to get to work, that's all."

"Liar." He's close enough now that I can smell his cologne and it brings back a thousand memories. "You got scared. Just like you're scared right now."

"I'm not scared of you."

"I didn't say you were scared of me." His hand comes up to cup my face and I lean into it before I can stop myself. "You're scared of this, of us, of what happens if we try again and it doesn't work."

He's right and I hate that he's right, hate that he can still read me so easily after all this time.

"We can't do this," I whisper, but I'm already moving closer. "You paid for an hour and we both know that's not what you actually want."

"You're right. An hour isn't enough." His other hand finds my waist, pulling me against him. "I want all of you, Vanessa. Not just your time, not just your body. Everything."

"Derek—"

He kisses me before I can finish and I'm lost, completely lost in him. My hands are in his hair and he's lifting me up and my legs wrap around his waist automatically. We're moving toward the couch but we don't make it that far, ending up against the wall instead.

"Tell me to stop," he murmurs against my neck, hands sliding up my thighs. "Tell me you don't want this and I'll walk away right now."

"I can't." The admission breaks something inside me. "I hate that I can't."

His hands are everywhere, relearning every curve, every sensitive spot he used to know by heart. My outfit hits the floor and his jacket follows, then his shirt, and we're desperate and messy and it's everything I've been trying not to want for two years.

"I love you," he breathes against my skin as he carries me to the couch. "I never stopped, I never will."

"I love you too," I gasp out, past the point of pretending otherwise. "God, Derek, I love you so much it hurts."

We're tangled together and lost in each other and nothing else exists except this moment, this feeling, this man who destroyed me and put me back together all at once.

Then the door slams open.

"Vanessa, we need to—" Marcus stops dead in the doorway, his face going from worried to shocked to devastated in the span of a heartbeat.

I scramble to cover myself, grabbing my outfit, my face burning with shame and panic. "Marcus, I—"

"I've been calling you for twenty minutes," he says, voice tight and controlled. "There's an emergency with—" He stops, looking between me and Derek who's also trying to get dressed. "You know what, it doesn't matter. Handle it yourself."

"Wait, please—" I pull on my outfit and run after him but he's already walking away fast. "Marcus, let me explain!"

He spins around and the hurt in his eyes stops me cold. "Explain what? That you've been sleeping with clients? That everything between us was a lie?"

"Between us?" Derek's voice comes from behind me, sharp and dangerous. "What the hell does that mean?"

My stomach drops. This is it, the moment everything implodes.

"Marcus and I—we're not just—he's not just my security," I stammer, looking between them. "We've been seeing each other for three months."

Derek's face goes completely blank and that's somehow worse than if he'd gotten angry. "You have a boyfriend."

"It's not like that—"

"It's exactly like that," Marcus cuts in, and now he's angry too. "Or it was until apparently you decided to screw your ex-husband in the room I'm supposed to be protecting you in."

"Protecting her?" Derek steps forward. "Is that what you call it? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you've been taking advantage of her while she's vulnerable."

"I've been here for her!" Marcus shoots back. "Where the hell were you two years ago when she needed someone?"

Derek lunges for him but I jump between them. "Stop it! Both of you, just stop!"

They're both breathing hard, both looking at me like I've betrayed them, and I guess I have. I've been lying to everyone, including myself, pretending I could move on when I never really did.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, tears streaming down my face. "I'm so sorry, Marcus. I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did." His voice cracks and seeing him cry makes it worse. "I told you I loved you last week and you said you needed time. Now I know why." He looks at Derek with pure hatred. "She's all yours. Hope you're happy."

He walks away and this time I don't follow because what can I say? He's right. I've been using him as a placeholder, trying to fill the Derek-shaped hole in my heart with someone who actually showed up.

"How long?" Derek asks quietly behind me.

"Three months." I turn to face him, wiping my eyes. "We met when he started working here and he was kind and present and everything you weren't. I thought maybe I could love him if I tried hard enough."

"But you don't."

"No." There's no point lying anymore. "I don't. I love you and I hate myself for it."

Derek pulls me into his arms and I break down completely, sobbing into his chest while he holds me. We're both broken, both bleeding, both destroying everyone around us because we can't let each other go.

"What do we do now?" I ask when I can finally breathe again.

"I don't know." He kisses the top of my head. "But we figure it out together this time. No more running, no more hiding. Just us, working through this mess."

I nod against his chest even though I don't know if we can actually do that, if love is enough to fix everything we've broken. But for now, standing here in his arms, I want to believe it is.

Even if it means burning everything else to the ground.