All Chapters of Legally Bound : Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

Chicago greeted Alex with a familiar weight one that sat somewhere between memory and intention. The city no longer felt like an escape; it felt like unfinished business.Carlton pulled up to the penthouse just past noon. Alex and Eileen didn’t linger. They dropped their bags, exchanged a few clipped words about schedules, and were back in the elevator almost immediately. There would be time later for silence and for reflection. Today was for momentum.The agent met them downtown, impeccably dressed and visibly nervous once she realized exactly who her clients were. Alex listened more than he spoke as she walked them through a series of properties, sleek glass-fronted buildings, newly renovated floors, impressive addresses. Each space was good. Some were even excellent.None of them were right.Alex moved through each one with a quiet, evaluative air, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning beyond the polished surfaces. He asked about structural flexibility, long-term expansion, security

The café Lily chose sat tucked between glass-fronted boutiques and a quiet side street that muted the city’s usual noise. It wasn’t flashy, no ostentatious chandeliers or velvet ropes but it carried the kind of understated elegance Lily had come to associate with people who had nothing to prove. Warm lighting. Low music. Polished wood tables that reflected years of careful use.Lily arrived a few minutes early.She took the seat facing the window, fingers curled around a mug she hadn’t ordered, heart pacing ahead of her thoughts. When Eileen walked in, tailored coat, composed stride Lily stood instinctively, nerves spiking despite herself.“Thank you for coming,” Eileen said as they sat. Her voice was calm, but there was urgency beneath it. “I know this wasn’t easy.”Lily nodded. “I wasn’t sure I would.”Eileen didn’t waste time with small talk. She folded her hands on the table, eyes steady. “I’ll be direct. Alex is not okay.”Lily’s chest tightened.“He’s lost weight,” Eileen contin

New York welcomed Alex back with its familiar weight.The following morning, the Cromwell & Partners boardroom was unusually attentive. Screens lit up with floor plans, financial projections, and timelines as Alex walked them through the Chicago expansion updates very measured, precise and already several steps ahead. He spoke about the new building they had acquired with pictures, the support from Barton and Myers and the long-term vision with a calm confidence that left little room for doubt.By the time he was done, the room had shifted.Questions followed, sharp, practical ones but none carried skepticism. When the final slide disappeared, there was a brief silence before nods began circulating around the table. Even the most conservative partners looked impressed.“Well done,” one of them finally said. “You’re making good progress.” Alex inclined his head slightly. He didn’t smile.After the meeting, his father stopped him in the corridor, resting a hand briefly on his shoulder.

Lily didn’t wait for him to find words.She stepped forward, closing the small distance between them, and wrapped her arms around him.For half a second, Alex stood frozen like his body hadn’t yet received permission to believe this was real. Then something inside him gave way completely. His arms came around her, hard and desperate, pulling her against his chest as if letting go would undo her presence altogether.The sound that left him wasn’t dignified. It wasn’t controlled. It was a broken, muffled sob he didn’t even try to suppress.Lily stiffened in surprise.She had never seen Alex Cromwell cry.Not when the firm was collapsing.Not when the audit nearly destroyed everything.Not when the world had seemed intent on tearing him apart.But now, now he was shaking, forehead pressed into her shoulder, breath hitching like he’d been holding it for months and only just remembered how to release it.“Oh,” she whispered, instinctively tightening her hold on him. “Alex…”He clutched her

“I missed this,” Lily whispered, her forehead resting against his.Alex smiled, a soft breath leaving him. “I missed you.”Their lips met again not rushed, not desperate like before, but deep with recognition. Familiar. Certain. Like two people who had finally found their way back to something they’d never truly lost.When they eventually pulled apart, it was only because they had to breathe.The world outside the room faded. Time softened. Everything loud and sharp from the past months dulled into something distant and unimportant. What mattered was the way Alex’s hand fit so naturally at Lily’s waist. The way her fingers curled into his shirt like she’d done a hundred times before. The way being together again felt like relief settling into bone.They moved toward the bed without words.Later, they lay tangled together beneath the sheets, the room quiet except for the steady rhythm of their breathing. Lily rested her head on Alex’s chest, listening to his heartbeat; strong, groundin