Chapter Five: The Only Line That Matters

Marcus knew before Nia said a word.

He saw it in the way she avoided his eyes at breakfast. The way she stirred her coffee long after the sugar had dissolved. The way she asked ordinary questions with too much care, like she was testing the ground beneath her feet.

Instinct told him the truth before logic could catch up.

She knows.

That realization settled in his chest like a weight he couldn’t shift.

“Dad,” Nia said finally, pushing her plate away. “Can we talk?”

Marcus folded his napkin slowly, buying himself a second. “Of course.”

She stood and walked toward the living room without waiting for him. He followed, every step measured, every breath controlled.

This was the moment discipline was meant for.

Nia didn’t sit. She paced instead, arms crossed, jaw tight.

“How long?” she asked.

Marcus didn’t pretend not to understand. “Long enough to matter.”

Her shoulders rose and fell as she exhaled sharply. “So I’m not crazy.”

“No,” he said quietly. “You’re not.”

She stopped pacing and faced him. “I figured it out last night.”

Marcus nodded once. “I suspected you might.”

That made her laugh—short, humorless. “You suspected. Wow.”

“I never wanted you to find out like this,” he said.

“How did you want me to find out?” she snapped. “From you? Or from realizing my best friend looks at my father like he’s the only man in the room?”

The words stung because they were true.

Marcus held her gaze. “From me.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

Because I was afraid.

Because I didn’t trust myself to say it out loud.

Because once it’s spoken, it’s real.

Instead, he said, “Because I didn’t know if I deserved to.”

That stopped her.

Nia’s expression shifted—not softened, but sharpened. “So it is real.”

Marcus didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

The admission echoed between them.

She swallowed. “You’re in love with her.”

It wasn’t a question.

Marcus closed his eyes for half a second—then opened them. “Yes.”

Saying it out loud felt like stepping off a ledge.

Nia stared at him, searching his face for something reckless. Something selfish.

She didn’t find it.

“When did this happen?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It crept in. I fought it. I still am.”

She shook her head slowly. “This is so messed up.”

“I know.”

“She’s my best friend.”

“I know.”

“You’re my father.”

“I know.”

Silence pressed in.

Marcus straightened, the decision he’d been carrying heavy in his chest finally settling into place.

“That’s why I need you to hear this,” he said firmly. “Nothing—nothing—happens without your approval.”

Her eyes snapped to his. “What?”

“If you tell me this is too much,” he continued, voice steady but strained, “I will end it. Completely. No contact beyond what’s necessary. No explanations. No exceptions.”

Nia’s breath caught. “You’d really do that?”

“Yes.”

“Even if you love her?”

Marcus didn’t flinch. “Especially because I love her.”

That was the truth of it. Love wasn’t possession. It wasn’t indulgence. It was restraint when restraint was required.

Nia sat down slowly, like her legs had finally given out.

“You’d give her up,” she said, more to herself than to him.

“For you,” he replied. “Without hesitation.”

She rubbed her temples. “I hate this.”

“I don’t expect you not to.”

She looked up at him then, eyes glossy but sharp. “Did you touch her?”

“No,” Marcus said immediately. “I wouldn’t.”

“Did you cross any lines?”

“No,” he repeated. “And I won’t.”

Nia studied him for a long moment.

“I already talked to Aire,” she said quietly.

His chest tightened. “And?”

“She told me,” Nia continued. “Not everything—but enough. She was terrified of losing me.”

That didn’t surprise him. It only deepened the ache in his chest.

“She loves you,” Marcus said. “In a way that has nothing to do with me.”

“I know,” Nia replied. “That’s the only reason I didn’t lose it.”

She leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “I’m angry.”

“You’re allowed to be.”

“I’m confused.”

“Of course.”

She glanced at him. “But I don’t think you’re trying to hurt me.”

Marcus let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

“I would never,” he said.

Nia’s voice dropped. “If I say no… you walk away.”

“Yes.”

No bargaining. No persuasion.

Just truth.

She sat with that for a long time.

“I don’t approve,” she said finally.

Marcus’s heart sank—but he nodded. “Okay.”

“But I don’t forbid it either,” she added.

He looked up sharply.

She met his gaze. “I need time. I need honesty. And I need you to remember that no matter what you feel, I come first.”

“You always have,” Marcus said.

She stood and stepped closer, her voice firm but fragile. “If this hurts her—or me—I will shut it down myself.”

Marcus nodded. “I understand.”

Nia hesitated, then hugged him—quick and tight.

“Don’t make me regret this,” she whispered.

He closed his eyes. “I won’t.”

Later that night, alone in his office, Marcus sat in the dark, the weight of love and responsibility pressing equally on his chest.

He was in love with Aire.

And for the first time since it began, the danger wasn’t desire.

It was permission.