Dominic’s POVI stared at the empty hallway long after Amelia disappeared behind her apartment door. Every cell in my body screamed at me to follow her, to make this right, to say what I should have said hours—hell, months—ago. But my feet wouldn’t move. My fists were clenched at my sides, the only thing keeping me upright when everything inside me was shaking.The elevator doors slid closed behind me, trapping me in a tin box that felt too quiet, too still. I’d held it together as long as I could—through dinner, through the tension at the door, through the crack in her voice when she said goodnight like it was goodbye.Now, alone, the weight dropped.I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and pressed my palms to my eyes. What the fuck was I doing?Amelia wasn’t just anyone. She wasn’t some disposable fling, not a convenient escape from the numbness I’d lived in for years. She was the goddamn pulse in my chest. And I’d spent every second of the night pretending she wasn’t,
Amelia’s POVThe café smelled like burnt espresso and regret.I sat alone at the farthest corner table, nursing a cappuccino I hadn’t taken more than two sips of, my fingers tracing the rim of the ceramic cup over and over. The place was mostly empty, save for a woman tapping furiously on her laptop two tables over and a man in a suit scrolling through his phone with a scowl.Eight-oh-five.Dominic was late.And I hated that it mattered to me. That I kept checking the door every thirty seconds like some lovesick idiot. That my stomach twisted with every tick of the clock. That despite everything — the secrets, the games, the silence — I still wanted him to show up. I still wanted this to mean something.Maybe I was the stupid one.I reached for my phone, flicking through meaningless notifications just to distract myself. But my mind kept drifting back to the way his message had looked on my screen last night: Coffee later? Like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t disappeared. Like I
Dominic’s POVI didn’t know what I was expecting when I texted her. Maybe silence. Maybe another one-word answer like before, something sharp and dismissive, something that matched the cold distance I’d forced between us.But she replied.See you at eight.Those four words had no right making my chest tighten the way they did. I sat in my car across the street from the café, fingers tightening around the steering wheel as I stared through the windshield like a coward. She wasn’t even inside yet, but I already felt like I was being dragged backward — pulled into a memory, into a version of myself I had spent years trying to bury.Amelia Carter had always been the soft spot I tried to ignore.Even as a teenager, when she was just my best friend’s little sister, always lingering around with too-wide eyes and too-curious questions, I’d known she was dangerous. And now? She wasn’t just dangerous.She was devastating.I ran a hand through my hair, sighed, and checked the time again. 7:58. T
Amelia’s POVThe soft glow of Dominic’s message blinked insistently on my phone screen as I lay in the darkened silence of my apartment. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the words. Too late. Simple. Cold. Yet somehow, weighted with so much meaning.Was it really too late?I curled into the familiar ache settling deep in my chest. For weeks now, I’d been walking a tightrope between desire and doubt, between hope and the harsh reality of everything Dominic Blackwood represented. He was a man built of contradictions — ruthless and vulnerable, commanding yet uncertain, the kind of man who could make you feel like the only person in the world one moment and then push you so far away the next, you weren’t sure if he’d ever let you in again.I swallowed hard and let the phone slip from my fingers onto the bed beside me. The silence that followed was deafening. My mind raced through memories — the way he’d looked at me during that last meeting, how his jaw had tightened every time I challeng
Dominic’s POVShe left her coffee cup in the sink, her hair still damp from the shower, wearing that soft green sweater that somehow made her look both fragile and untouchable. She smiled at me before heading out the door like she hadn’t just completely upended my world.Like last night hadn’t meant something.But it had. It meant everything.The second the door clicked shut behind her, the silence came crashing in. Loud. Suffocating. Heavy in a way that hit straight in the chest.I leaned on the edge of the counter, staring at the doorway like she might walk back through it if I stayed still long enough. She wouldn’t, though. Because she trusted me now. Trusted me not to run, not to lash out, not to push her away again. And that trust was a fucking weight I didn’t know how to carry.I had no blueprint for this—whatever this was. No manual on how to let someone in when I’d spent years locking every door inside me shut.And still... she’d slipped in.Amelia had waltzed into my world wi
Amelia’s POVI woke up before the sun, the early light just beginning to stretch through the curtains, casting soft shadows across the sheets. The air was warm and still, and for a moment, I didn’t move. I stayed curled in the same spot I’d fallen asleep—wrapped in Dominic’s arms, my cheek resting against his chest, his heartbeat steady beneath my ear.It felt safe here. Real. Like the kind of moment you hold your breath in, afraid to break the spell.But then reality started to creep back in, curling under the doorframe, whispering all the reasons this shouldn't feel like home.He stirred beneath me. His hand moved slowly across my back, as though he was trying to remind himself I was still there, and I felt the tension return to his body as he woke.“You’re awake,” he murmured, his voice deep and rough with sleep.“Yeah,” I whispered. I didn’t move away.“Me too.”I lifted my head, resting my chin on his chest so I could see his face. His hair was a mess, eyes darker than usual in t