Chapter 14:Under One Roof

Zoe's POV

“Absolutely not.”

Zoe stood in the middle of Julian's study with her arms crossed firmly over her chest.

Julian stood behind his desk, watching her with a calm expression.

Too calm.

It was the kind of look that told Zoe he had already made his decision and was not planning to change it.

“It wasn't a request,” he said.

Zoe stared at him.

“I know.”

“Good.”

“That doesn't mean I'm agreeing.”

Julian's eyebrow lifted.

Zoe refused to look away.

She had already spent enough time around him to know what that look meant.

Julian Blackwood was used to getting what he wanted.

People listened when he spoke.

Employees followed his instructions.

Business partners accepted his decisions.

Even his board members knew better than to argue with him for too long.

But Zoe was not about to let him decide where she would sleep.

“I have a room,” she said. “It's down the hall. Three floors from you. I've been staying there perfectly fine.”

“Until yesterday.”

Zoe's jaw tightened.

“That doesn't mean I need to move into your private wing.”

“You do.”

“No, I don't.”

“Yes, you do.”

She stared at him.

“Why are you so stubborn?”

Julian looked almost amused.

“I could ask you the same question.”

“I'm serious.”

“So am I.”

Zoe threw her hands up.

“This is ridiculous.”

Julian stepped away from his desk.

“Marcus set a fire that nearly killed you yesterday.”

Zoe's expression changed slightly.

She knew that.

She had lived through it.

She could still remember the smoke.

The heat.

The sound of people shouting.

The fear in the young valet's voice.

She could still feel the burning in her throat.

But she pushed the memories away.

Julian continued.

“Arthur found evidence connecting Marcus to a competitor.”

Zoe looked at him.

“The same competitor that has been trying to take control of Blackwood Industries for two years.”

“I know.”

“Then you understand why this isn't a normal situation.”

Zoe remained silent.

Julian moved closer.

“You are not just a housekeeper caught in the middle anymore.”

She looked away.

“You're a target.”

The word hit her harder than she expected.

Target.

Zoe felt her arms tighten around herself.

She suddenly felt very young.

Not like the woman who had crawled through smoke yesterday.

Not like the woman who had found the flash drive.

Not like the woman who had kept a notebook full of evidence while everyone around her ignored what she was saying.

For a moment, she felt like the girl she used to be.

The girl who had spent eighteen years moving from one foster home to another.

The girl who had learned very early not to become too attached to people.

Not to homes.

Not to belongings.

Not to promises.

Because anything could disappear.

Anyone could leave.

Zoe hated that feeling.

She had spent years building herself into someone who did not need anyone.

Someone who could stand alone.

Now Julian was asking her to move closer to him because someone wanted to hurt her.

She wanted to say no.

She wanted to prove that she could still take care of herself.

But deep down, she knew something.

Yesterday had shown her that being careful was not always enough.

Someone had started a fire inside the building.

Someone had made sure the sprinklers did not work.

Someone had nearly trapped her.

Zoe slowly lowered her arms.

“Fine.”

Julian watched her.

“Fine,” she repeated.

“I'll move.”

Something changed in his expression.

It was small.

Almost impossible to notice.

But Zoe saw it.

His shoulders relaxed slightly.

Relief.

Real relief.

Not the satisfaction of a man who had won an argument.

Relief.

For some reason, that made her chest feel strange.

“Thank you,” Julian said.

Zoe looked at him.

There was that word again.

Thank you.

She remembered telling Elena weeks ago that Julian probably did not know how to use those words.

He rarely thanked anyone.

He simply expected things to be done.

But now he had said it to her.

And it sounded different.

Warmer.

Zoe quickly looked away.

“When do I move?”

“Now.”

She turned back.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“You couldn't give me one night?”

“No.”

“Of course.”

Julian's mouth almost curved into a smile.

Almost.

Zoe shook her head.

“You really enjoy ordering people around, don't you?”

“It saves time.”

“It also makes people want to argue with you.”

“You seem to manage that quite well.”

Zoe gave him a look.

“Exactly.”

For the first time, Julian actually smiled.

It was brief.

So brief that Zoe almost wondered if she had imagined it.

Then he turned toward the door.

“I'll have someone bring your things.”

“No.”

He stopped.

“I can carry my own things.”

“You shouldn't.”

“Julian.”

He looked at her.

“I can carry a bag.”

He studied her for a moment.

Then he nodded.

“Fine.”

Zoe followed him out of the study.

The walk to her old room felt strangely different.

She looked at the hallway as they moved.

It was the same hallway she had walked through countless times.

The same walls.

The same lights.

The same doors.

But everything felt different now.

Her old room had never been large.

It had been comfortable enough, but it had never really felt like hers.

She had never expected to stay there for long.

Maybe because she had never expected to stay anywhere for long.

Now Julian was giving her another room.

Closer to him.

Closer to safety.

Closer to a life she still did not understand.

She packed quietly.

A few clothes.

Her shoes.

Her toiletries.

Her books.

Her small personal things.

There was not much.

Zoe looked around the room once before leaving.

It surprised her how quickly she had become used to it.

Even though it had never truly felt like home, she had slept there.

She had laughed there.

She had cried there.

She had written in her notebook there.

Now she was leaving it.

She picked up her duffel bag.

Julian was waiting outside.

“You're ready?”

“Yes.”

He reached for the bag.

Zoe pulled it away.

“I said I can carry it.”

“I know.”

“Then stop trying to take it.”

He nodded.

“All right.”

They walked together.

Her new room was three doors away from Julian's own.

When Julian opened the door, Zoe stopped.

She stared.

The room was much bigger than her old one.

There was a large bed.

A comfortable chair near the window.

A desk.

A small table.

And, most importantly, a large window that allowed real daylight into the room.

Zoe stepped inside slowly.

She looked around.

“This is my room?”

“Yes.”

She walked toward the window.

The city stretched beyond the glass.

Lights filled the streets below.

The view was beautiful.

She had never had a room like this.

She set her bag down.

For a few seconds, she simply stood there.

Her life had changed so quickly that she could barely understand it.

A few weeks ago, she had been a housekeeper trying to keep her job.

Now she was living inside Julian Blackwood's private wing because someone might be trying to kill her.

It sounded impossible.

And yet, it was her life.

“You don't have to make it feel like nothing.”

Zoe turned.

Julian was standing in the hallway.

His tie was already loose.

His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms.

It was a look she rarely saw on him.

He looked less like the cold billionaire everyone knew and more like a normal man who had finally let himself relax.

“What do you mean?” Zoe asked.

He nodded toward the room.

“This.”

Then he looked between the two doors.

“Being this close to me.”

Zoe swallowed.

Julian continued.

“I know this isn't easy for you.”

She said nothing.

“Depending on someone.”

His voice became quieter.

“Needing protection.”

Zoe looked at him.

He had said it too accurately.

He had somehow touched the exact thing she had been trying not to think about.

“I don't need—”

“You do.”

She stopped.

Julian's expression softened.

“There's nothing wrong with that.”

Zoe looked down.

She did not know why those simple words affected her so much.

“I've never needed anyone before,” she admitted.

Her voice was quiet.

“Not really.”

Julian remained silent.

Zoe looked toward the window.

“Not since I was a kid.”

She took a breath.

“When you grow up moving from one place to another, you learn not to depend on people.”

Julian's eyes stayed on her.

“You learn to handle things yourself.”

Zoe gave a small smile.

“It's easier that way.”

“Maybe.”

She looked at him.

Julian's expression had changed.

There was no teasing in his face now.

“No one has ever needed me either,” he said.

Zoe blinked.

“Really?”

“Not the way you mean.”

He paused.

“I've spent most of my life believing I could handle everything myself.”

Zoe looked at him properly.

For the first time that evening, she realized they had something in common.

They were different in almost every way.

He had grown up with money and power.

She had grown up moving from one foster home to another.

He had built a company.

She had learned how to survive.

But both of them had learned the same lesson.

Do not depend on anyone.

Julian looked down the hallway.

“Doesn't mean we don't need people sometimes.”

Zoe's throat tightened.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

The hallway was quiet.

The city lights shone faintly through the windows.

For the first time since all of this began, Zoe did not feel afraid.

Not completely.

There was still danger.

Marcus was still out there.

They still did not know who “R” was.

They still did not know what would happen next.

But standing there with Julian, she felt something else.

Something she could not explain.

Something that had nothing to do with fear.

She quickly pushed the thought away.

“Goodnight, Julian.”

She stepped backward into the room.

“Goodnight, Zoe.”

She closed the door.

Then she leaned against it.

Her eyes closed.

She pressed one hand against her chest.

Her heart was beating too fast.

“Calm down,” she whispered to herself.

It did not listen.

She pushed away from the door and walked toward the bed.

She sat down.

For several minutes, she simply stared at the floor.

Why was her heart beating like that?

Julian had only been kind.

That was all.

He was protecting her.

That was all.

There was no reason for her to feel strange.

No reason at all.

She stood and began arranging her things.

She placed her clothes inside the wardrobe.

Her books on the desk.

Her toiletries in the bathroom.

Then she took out her notebook.

She stared at it.

For weeks, that notebook had been her protection.

It had held everything she was too afraid to say aloud.

She placed it carefully inside the drawer.

Then she closed it.

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

Eventually, Zoe changed into comfortable clothes and climbed into bed.

She turned off the light.

Outside, the city continued moving.

Cars passed below.

Distant horns sounded.

People walked through the streets.

But inside the room, everything was still.

Zoe closed her eyes.

She tried to sleep.

It took a long time.

Much later, well after midnight, she heard something.

A soft sound.

Footsteps.

Zoe opened her eyes.

She remained still.

The footsteps moved slowly down the hallway.

Then they stopped.

Right outside her door.

Zoe held her breath.

She listened.

Nothing happened.

The footsteps did not move for several seconds.

She could not see who was outside.

She wondered if she should get out of bed.

Then the footsteps moved again.

Slowly.

Carefully.

They continued down the hallway.

Zoe stayed still until the sound disappeared.

She looked at the door.

For some reason, she knew who had been standing there.

Julian.

She did not know why he had stopped outside her room.

Maybe he had been checking that she was safe.

Maybe he had simply been walking past.

Maybe there was another reason.

She did not know.

But somehow, knowing he had been there made her feel safer.

And that scared her more than she wanted to admit.

Down the hallway, another door closed quietly.

Julian's door.

Zoe turned onto her side.

She pulled the blanket closer.

Her heart was still beating too quickly.

She closed her eyes again.

But this time, a small smile touched her lips.

She did not know what was happening between them.

She did not know what tomorrow would bring.

She only knew that, for the first time in a very long time, she was not completely alone.

And somehow, that felt both frightening and comforting at the same time.