Amelia paced the length of her office for what felt like the hundredth time, her heels tapping softly against the polished floor. The space was small but functional, glass walls giving her a clear view of the newsroom outside. People moved about, typing, answering calls, laughing over things that suddenly felt very far away from her reality. The hum of computers blended with low conversations, but none of it reached her. Her mind was somewhere else entirely.
The past few weeks refused to loosen their grip on her. Every time she thought she could breathe again, something dragged her back under. Kale's face flashed in her mind, the memory of his sacrifice still too fresh, too heavy. Then there was the attack, the chaos, the moment she truly understood how dangerous Xavier's world could be. And worse than all of it was the truth about her parents. It sat deep in her chest like a stone, cold and immovable. They had not died by chance. Someone had taken them from her.
Her fingers tightened around the file she was holding, the edges crumpling slightly under her grip. She forced herself to relax and placed it back on the desk, but her hands betrayed her, trembling just enough to annoy her.
She hated that.
Amelia prided herself on control. On being the kind of woman who could walk into a storm and come out untouched. But tonight, even the familiar comfort of her work felt foreign. The stack of documents on her desk looked more like a burden than an opportunity.
She exhaled slowly, pressing her palm against the desk as if grounding herself.
Get it together.
The soft click of the door broke through her thoughts.
"You look like you are fighting an invisible enemy."
She did not need to turn around to know who it was.
Xavier.
Amelia straightened slightly before facing him, schooling her expression into something neutral. He stood by the door, one hand still resting on the handle, his dark suit fitting him in a way that should have been illegal. There was something about him that always filled a room without trying. It was not just his presence, it was the way he carried himself, like everything and everyone was already under his control.
"I'm fine," she said, a little too quickly. "Just working."
His eyebrow lifted just slightly, not buying it for a second. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him with a quiet click that somehow felt louder than it should.
The air changed.
Amelia felt it immediately. It was subtle, but undeniable. The space suddenly felt smaller, warmer. Dangerous.
"You're a terrible liar," Xavier said, his voice low, almost amused. He leaned casually against the wall, but his eyes stayed locked on her, sharp and observant. "And I've seen you lie very well before."
She crossed her arms, more to steady herself than anything else. "Maybe I just don't feel the need to impress you."
A corner of his lips lifted. "That would hurt, if I believed it."
He pushed himself off the wall and took a slow step toward her. Not rushed, not aggressive, just deliberate. The kind of movement that made her hyper aware of every inch he closed between them.
"You don't have to pretend with me, Amelia," he continued, his tone softer now, but no less intense. "I see more than you think."
Her jaw tightened. That irritated her more than it should have.
"You see what you want to see," she replied, holding her ground even as her pulse began to pick up. "There's a difference."
"Is there?" he asked, stopping just close enough to make her breath catch. "Because from where I'm standing, you're barely holding it together."
That hit closer than she liked.
For a brief second, something flickered in her eyes. Vulnerability. It was gone just as quickly, replaced with defiance.
"You're very confident," she said. "It must be exhausting being right all the time."
Xavier let out a quiet chuckle, the sound low and warm. "I wouldn't know. I'm rarely wrong."
"Of course you aren't."
Their eyes held, the space between them charged with something neither of them was willing to name. Amelia could feel it building, that familiar pull that made absolutely no sense considering everything she knew about him.
He was dangerous.
He was complicated.
And yet…
"Maybe I just know enough to be dangerous," he added, his voice dropping slightly, the words wrapping around her like a challenge.
Her heart skipped, and she hated that he noticed.
"Then maybe you should leave," she said, forcing steadiness into her tone. "Before you prove it."
Instead of stepping away, Xavier leaned in just a fraction closer. Not enough to touch, but enough that she could feel the warmth of him, the faint scent of his cologne, something clean with a darker edge underneath.
"Danger isn't always something to run from," he murmured.
Her breath hitched before she could stop it.
For a moment, the world outside that office disappeared. No noise, no people, no past. Just the two of them standing too close, saying things that meant more than they should.
And then—
A knock.
Sharp. Real. Interrupting everything.
"Amelia!" Beth's voice came through the door, bright and full of energy. "You need to see this!"
Amelia blinked, the spell breaking instantly. She stepped back, putting space between herself and Xavier as if she had just remembered how to breathe.
"Come in," she called, her voice steadier now.
Beth pushed the door open, already mid-sentence. "You won't believe what just happened. Xavier's legal team found a loophole in that corporate fraud case. It could blow everything wide open."
She stopped for a second when she noticed how close Xavier had been standing, her eyes flicking between them with a knowing look that Amelia chose to ignore.
Xavier straightened, adjusting his cuff like nothing had happened. Like the tension in the room had not just been thick enough to cut through.
"I'll leave you to it," he said smoothly, though his gaze lingered on Amelia for a second longer than necessary. "We'll talk later."
It was not a question.
Before she could respond, he turned and walked out, his presence leaving behind a silence that felt louder than before.
Amelia let out a breath she had not realized she was holding.
Beth wasted no time, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the computer. "Did you feel that?" she whispered dramatically. "Because I definitely felt that."
"Felt what?" Amelia asked, though she knew exactly what Beth meant.
Beth shot her a look. "Don't even start. The tension in this room could power the entire building."
Despite herself, Amelia let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "You're ridiculous."
"Am I?" Beth said, grinning as she pulled up the documents on the screen. "Because from where I'm standing, your life just got a lot more interesting."
Amelia's smile faded slightly as she glanced toward the glass wall, her eyes landing on Xavier's retreating figure in the distance. Even from afar, he carried that same controlled energy, like nothing could touch him.
Her chest tightened.
Beth was right about one thing.
Things were getting complicated.
Between the truth about her parents, the danger lurking in the shadows, and whatever was happening between her and Xavier, nothing about her life was simple anymore.
And the most unsettling part?
A small, reckless part of her was not sure she wanted it to be.