A Step Too Far

CHAPTER 18

Morning came too fast.

Too bright.

Too sharp.

Too loud for the kind of sleep I barely had.

My body woke up before my mind did. Before the fear. Before the nerves. Before the memory of Reign walking me out of the office like I was something fragile. Something worth shielding.

It hit me all at once.

His hand on my back.

His voice—low, protective.

His anger when he realised Ivy cornered me.

And that quiet ride home where neither of us spoke, but somehow everything felt said.

I shouldn’t remember it this clearly.

I shouldn’t replay it like it meant more than it did.

I definitely shouldn’t feel the warm flick in my stomach when I think of the way he glanced at me under the streetlights.

But I do.

And it scares me.

And… maybe something else too.

The office wasn’t quiet this morning.

It was buzzing.

Low whispers. Fast footsteps. People were moving like something was wrong but trying not to look like something was wrong.

Never a good sign.

The coffee machine hissed like it was stressed too.

Evan stood near Reign’s office door, hands in pockets, expression unreadable. Not bored. Not amused. Something sharper.

He spotted me immediately.

“Maya,” he said. “Good. You’re here.”

Good was rarely good.

My heart dipped. “What happened?”

Before he could answer, the door opened.

Reign stepped out.

He looked like he hadn’t slept either.

That controlled storm in his eyes was back.

Focused.

Deadly.

But his gaze softened—barely—when he saw me.

“Maya. Inside.”

Same tone as yesterday.

That careful gentleness wrapped in CEO steel.

I followed him in.

The minute the door clicked behind us, he handed me a folder.

Not slowly.

Not calmly.

He placed it in my hands like it was a bomb.

“What is this?” I whispered.

“A disaster,” he said flatly. “Manufactured.”

My throat tightened. “Manufactured by whom?”

He gave me a look that answered the question before the word left his mouth.

Ivy.

Of course, Ivy.

I opened the folder, heart sinking as I scanned through the documents.

My work.

My project.

But wrong.

Twisted.

Numbers changed.

Dates swapped.

One page missing.

And the worst part?

It looked like I had done it.

“Reign… I didn’t—”

“I know.” He cut me off instantly. “I know you didn’t.”

My knees almost buckled with relief.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice.

“She planted this. She’s trying to use it as leverage. She wants you removed from the project and reassigned.”

I felt like the floor cracked under me.

“Reassigned? To where?”

“Out of my office,” he said quietly. “Away from me.”

My stomach dropped.

“Oh.”

His jaw flexed sharply. “That’s not happening.”

Something warm curled in my chest before I could control it.

He wasn’t just protecting my job.

He was protecting… my place near him.

Dangerous territory.

He held my gaze for a beat too long.

Then he exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “We’re going to fix this. But you need to stay close today.”

There it was again.

That instinct of his.

That pull.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t want to cause trouble.”

He stepped forward before I finished the sentence.

“Maya.” His voice dropped. “You didn’t cause this. She did.”

My breath caught.

He was too close.

Too intense.

Too much.

I nodded once.

He didn’t move away.

Instead, his voice softened to something I wasn’t ready for.

“I won’t let her touch your work. Or your reputation.”

My heart slammed.

“Okay,” I breathed.

We stood there for a second that stretched too long.

Then a knock shattered it.

Evan poked his head in.

“We have a problem,” he said.

“Already handled,” Reign replied.

“No.” Evan stepped fully inside. “A new one.”

Reign stiffened. “What now?”

Evan handed him a tablet.

Reign glanced at it.

Then his expression darkened so fast the air shifted with it.

“What is it?” I whispered.

Neither answered at first.

Then Evan spoke quietly.

“She leaked the project errors to one of the board members. Said it came from Maya.”

My chest caved.

Reign’s hand tightened around the tablet like he wanted to snap it.

“She really wants me gone,” I whispered.

“No,” Evan corrected softly. “She wants Reign destabilised.”

Reign’s eyes lifted sharply.

“She knows where your pressure points are,” Evan added casually.

My cheeks flushed.

“Oh.”

Reign shot Evan a warning look.

Evan lifted his hands. “Just saying.”

Reign turned back to me. “We’re going to the boardroom.”

My heart raced. “Why?”

“To correct this before it spreads.”

Panic flickered in my chest. “But I didn’t prepare—”

“You don’t need to,” he said. “Just stand beside me. I’ll handle the talking.”

Beside him.

Not behind him.

Not away from him.

Beside.

We walked toward the boardroom together.

Ivy was already there.

Of course she was.

Standing by the window like she’d been waiting.

Like a queen waiting for the scene to unfold.

Her eyes flicked to me.

Then to Reign.

Then slowly back to me.

A smirk tugged at her mouth.

She thought she’d won.

She thought I’d walk in alone, terrified, cornered.

She thought he’d let me take the fall.

She didn’t expect him to walk beside me.

She definitely didn’t expect what happened next.

Reign stepped forward.

And placed the folder—her sabotaged folder—on the table.

“This”, he said coldly, “is fabricated.”

Ivy blinked once. “I’m sorry?”

He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t lose control.

He didn’t need to.

His tone was lethal enough.

“Someone altered Maya’s work,” he continued. “Intentionally. Sloppily. Hoping it would get past me.”

Ivy crossed her arms. “Are you implying—”

“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate. “I am.”

The room went still.

I forgot how to breathe.

Ivy laughed softly. “Reign… sweetheart… You’re upset. You don’t mean—”

“Don’t,” he snapped.

One word.

Sharp enough to cut glass.

Ivy’s smile cracked.

Evan stepped beside her. “We traced the digital edits. They came from your device.”

Her face was stripped of expression in an instant.

Not guilty.

Not shocked.

Just… calculating.

Always calculating.

“Must’ve been a glitch,” she said coolly.

“No,” Reign said. “It wasn’t.”

Silence stretched.

Then Ivy exhaled dramatically. “This is ridiculous. You’re defending her more aggressively than you defend your own board decisions.”

Reign didn’t blink. “Because she didn’t do this.”

“And I did?” Ivy asked, eyes narrowing.

“Yes.”

The room froze.

I did too.

Hearing him say it out loud.

Hearing him choose me so openly.

Something flared in my chest so fast I couldn’t contain it.

Fear.

Hope.

Warmth.

Confusion.

All tangled.

Ivy’s voice dropped to a poisonous whisper. “You’re letting her distract you.”

A muscle in Reign’s jaw ticked. “I’m not distracted.”

She tilted her head. “Then why is she still here?”

That question sliced directly into me.

But Reign didn’t falter.

“She’s here,” he said slowly, “because she earned her place.”

I felt the words hit me like a wave.

Ivy laughed again, but it sounded brittle.

“This is pathetic. You’re blind.”

“No,” Reign said. “I finally see clearly.”

Evan looked at me and mouthed, Brace yourself.

I didn’t know why until Ivy stepped closer.

Too close.

Her voice turned sharp as ice.

“You think she’s safe near you?” she whispered. “You have no idea what she’s capable of.”

Reign moved.

Not violently.

Not loudly.

Just enough to step in front of me.

Shielding.

Protecting.

Drawing a line.

“Say one more thing about her,” he said quietly, “and you will be escorted out of this building.”

My heart jumped.

Ivy stared at him.

Then at me.

Then at him again.

Realisation hit her face like a crack.

Not just suspicion.

Certainty.

“Unbelievable,” she breathed. “You’re falling for her.”

My breath stopped.

Reign didn’t answer.

He didn’t deny it.

He didn’t flinch.

He just stared at her with a calm, dangerous focus that said more than words ever could.

Ivy’s smile died.

Completely.

“This isn’t over,” she hissed.

“I know,” Reign said. “But you won’t win.”

She walked out, heels slicing the silence with every step.

Evan exhaled. “Well. That went… exactly how I expected.”

Reign didn’t move for a long moment.

Neither did I.

Then he turned to me.

Slowly.

Like he wasn’t sure how much of himself he had just revealed.

“Maya,” he said softly. “You okay?”

I swallowed hard. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes,” he said firmly. “I did.”

We were too close again.

Too charged.

Too much unspoken between us.

“Reign…” I whispered.

He closed his eyes briefly.

Not in frustration.

In restraint.

“We’ll talk later,” he murmured.

The same words as yesterday.

But heavier.

More dangerous.

More real.

I nodded.

Evan clapped his hands. “Alright. Crisis minimised. Feelings maximised. Can we all get back to work before Ivy sets something on fire?”

Reign shot him a look.

Evan grinned.

I just breathed.

Slow.

Shaky.

Alive.

Today, Ivy took a step too far.

But Reign?

He took a step closer.

And that scared me more than anything Ivy ever could.