Pembantuku, Pelakorku!

The storm hit the city like a warning. Rain pounded the streets, turning neon lights into blurry streaks, and Aurelia Vale pulled her coat tighter, ignoring the chill that ran through her bones. She had walked these streets countless times, but tonight every step felt heavier. Every step brought her closer to the man who had destroyed her life.

Damian Kade.

She hadn’t seen him in five years. Five years of silence, of hiding, of surviving. And now she was here, walking back into his world, back into his office, back under the shadow of the man she once loved and feared.

The lobby of Kade Technologies’ private estate was massive, sterile, perfect. Marble floors gleamed beneath towering crystal chandeliers, reflecting a world of wealth and power that she had always despised. But she didn’t have time for resentment. Her son’s life depended on her. Elias.

Her heels clicked softly against the marble, each sound echoing like a countdown. She stopped at the receptionist desk, breathing shallow.

“Vale?” The woman looked up politely. “Your appointment is with Mr. Kade’s assistant. They’ll meet you shortly.”

She nodded, keeping her expression neutral, and made her way to the velvet chairs near the windows. Sitting down, she forced herself to focus on the folder in her hands. Every word, every document inside was carefully prepared. Every lie polished to perfection.

She didn’t expect to see him.

But of course, life had a cruel sense of timing.

The office doors opened.

Damian Kade stepped into the room, and the air shifted. Broad shoulders, perfectly straight posture, a controlled, quiet power that seemed to radiate off him in waves. Dark eyes scanned the room and then stopped on her.

Aurelia’s breath caught.

Anger. Raw, sharp anger. She could feel it cutting through her like ice. And beneath it… longing. Something dangerous and forbidden, buried in those dark depths of his gaze.

He was taller than she remembered, his frame lean and strong, every inch the man who had ruled boardrooms and broken hearts with equal ease. Not bulky, not exaggerated, but undeniably… commanding.

“Vale.” His voice was low, smooth, but carried a weight that made her chest tighten.

“Yes.” She forced herself to answer, keeping her voice steady.

His eyes lingered on her, taking in the lines of her face, the way she held herself, the tension coiled in her body. He didn’t touch her. He didn’t need to. Every movement, every inch of space between them was a warning, a challenge.

“You’ve changed.” He stepped closer, just enough that she could feel the energy radiating off him. “But some things…” His gaze sharpened. “Some things don’t change at all.”

Her heart thumped painfully. She wanted to look away. She wanted to run. But she couldn’t. Not while Elias’s life depended on her courage.

“I’m here for the art therapist position,” she said, carefully neutral. “Nothing else.”

He studied her, silent, his dark eyes unreadable. Then, finally, he gestured toward the elevators. “Follow me.”

The ride up was quiet. The hum of the elevator felt deafening in her ears. Memories of humiliation, betrayal, and heartbreak surged forward, but she pushed them down. She had no time for fear. Not now.

When the doors opened, Damian led her down a long corridor to his office. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the city in silver rain. The office was massive, cold, and immaculate, like the man himself.

“Sit,” he said, nodding toward a chair in front of his desk.

Aurelia sank into the chair, trying to steady her racing heart. Damian leaned against the desk, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on her like a predator observing a cornered animal. Power radiated off him, quiet but undeniable.

“You’ve been gone a long time,” he said finally. His voice was low, almost dangerous, yet there was something else beneath it. A flicker of something she hadn’t seen before: regret? Desire? Pain?

“Yes,” she whispered. “I… had reasons.”

“Five years,” he murmured. “And yet you’re still standing here.”

Her chest tightened. She met his gaze, refusing to break. “I have to. My son… he needs me.”

At the mention of her son, something in his eyes darkened, and yet softened, all at once. Anger. Longing. A storm she had long tried to forget.

He pushed off the desk, stepping closer. His presence pressed against her, magnetic and terrifying. She could feel the control he wielded, the quiet authority in every line of his body. Not just a man, but a force — and she was caught in it.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said suddenly, a warning and a challenge all at once.

Her heart skipped. “I’m here for him,” she said, voice firm but small. “My son.”

He didn’t answer. Just stared, and for a moment, the storm in his eyes made her doubt everything. Her lies. Her plans. Her strength.

Then he said a single word that made her chest tighten:

“Welcome.”

It wasn’t warm. It wasn’t kind. It was a challenge. A promise. And maybe… a confession of something he would never speak aloud.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, hands trembling.

The message made her stomach drop.

Her son’s condition had worsened overnight.

And she didn’t know if she could reach him in time.

Outside, the rain streaked down the windows, silver and cold. And inside, Damian Kade’s dark gaze never left her.

She realized with a jolt: she had returned to save her son… but she had no idea what she had walked into.

⸻

Aurelia pressed her hand against the glass, staring at the city lights. Her heart raced. Her son’s life was slipping away. And the man standing behind the desk powerful, dangerous, and impossibly alive knew more than she could imagine.

“I came back to save him… but I don’t know if I’ll survive what comes next.”