Maya hadn't slept. The city outside her window was still wrapped in shadows when she sat up, her thoughts heavy, tangled. Adrian slept beside her, stretched across the couch, one arm draped where she had been lying moments ago. He looked younger in sleep—unguarded, almost boyish.
Her chest ached. He was risking everything for her.
She slipped from the couch, pacing quietly. The headlines had only grown uglier overnight. Some painted her as a gold-digger. Others called her reckless, naïve, a passing fling that threatened the Vale name. Each word pressed into her like a bruise.
She imagined Adrian, stripped of his inheritance, cast out of the empire his family had built. Could love really shield him from that kind of loss?
She wasn't sure.
When Adrian stirred awake, his eyes found her immediately. "Maya?" His voice was still rough with sleep.
She tried to smile. "Sorry. I couldn't rest."
He pushed up, rubbing his jaw before crossing the room to her. "Because of my father?"
"Because of all of it," she admitted. "The press, the whispers, your family. I don't want to be the reason you lose everything."
His gaze softened, but his jaw set with determination. "You're not the reason. You're the reason I can finally breathe."
She shook her head, looking away. "Adrian, you're the heir. This world was meant for you. If being with me tears it all apart—"
"Then let it fall apart." His voice sharpened, final. He caught her hand, pulling her back to him. "Maya, I've spent my whole life suffocating under expectations I never chose. And now, for the first time, I want something for myself. I want you."
Her throat tightened, words slipping away.
Before she could answer, his phone buzzed on the table. Adrian glanced at it, his expression darkening. "The board's meeting early. They want me to explain myself."
"Adrian—"
But he silenced the phone, his focus locked on her. "No more hiding. If they want answers, I'll give them. Publicly."
Later that morning, the Vale corporate headquarters buzzed with reporters. Rumors of Adrian's clash with his father had already spread, and the building's polished glass reflected the frenzy outside.
Adrian arrived with Maya at his side, ignoring the flash of cameras. His hand was steady in hers, his stride purposeful.
The boardroom was a cavern of sharp suits and sharper stares. Men and women who had built fortunes off the Vale name sat waiting, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and disdain. At the head of the table, Robert Vale sat rigid, his presence commanding as ever.
"You've dragged the family name through the mud," Robert said, his voice carrying like thunder. "And now you bring her into this room?"
Maya's chest tightened, but Adrian's hand squeezed hers. He stepped forward, his voice steady, strong.
"Yes. I bring her into this room. Because she's part of my life. And if that means she's part of the Vale legacy, then so be it."
A murmur rippled through the board.
Robert leaned back, eyes narrowed. "You're embarrassing yourself. And you're embarrassing this family."
"No," Adrian countered. "What's embarrassing is pretending that appearances are worth more than people. What's embarrassing is building an empire on control and fear."
The words landed heavy, silencing the room.
"You will regret this," Robert said coldly.
Adrian's jaw tightened, but he didn't waver. "The only thing I'd regret is losing her because I was too much of a coward to fight."
Maya's heart clenched. She hadn't expected him to speak so boldly, so publicly. Every pair of eyes in the room was on them, the weight of legacy pressing in. Yet Adrian stood like he belonged—not to them, but to himself.
One of the board members, an older woman with steel-gray hair, leaned forward. "And what happens when this romance crumbles, Adrian? What happens when the press tears her apart, and you with her?"
Adrian's grip on Maya's hand tightened. "Then we'll weather it together. Because this isn't a fling. This isn't a scandal. It's my choice. And I'll stand by it."
Silence hung heavy. The board members exchanged looks, some skeptical, others quietly impressed. But Robert's glare was unyielding, sharp enough to cut.
Finally, Adrian turned to Maya, his voice softer but still carrying through the room. "They'll never accept us. Not all of them. Maybe not ever. But it doesn't matter, because I do. I choose you, Maya. Every time."
Her breath caught, tears burning at the edges of her vision. The strength in his words wrapped around her, fierce and unwavering.
But in the back of her mind, fear still whispered. This wasn't just love. It was war. And wars left scars.
By the time they stepped out of the building, the press was waiting like vultures. Microphones shoved forward, questions overlapping, flashes blinding.
"Maya, how does it feel to be defended by Adrian in front of his father?"
"Adrian, are you giving up your inheritance for her?"
"Is this true love—or a reckless gamble?"
Adrian didn't slow. He pulled Maya close, shielding her as they moved through the chaos. But this time, when the shouts rose louder, he stopped.
He turned, facing the cameras directly, his voice calm but unshakable.
"This isn't a scandal," he said. "This is love. And I won't apologize for it."
The crowd erupted, voices clamoring, but his words cut clean through the noise.
Maya stared at him, heart pounding. He had just drawn the line—for her, for them. Publicly. Irrevocably.
And as they slipped into the car, his arm wrapped tight around her, she couldn't stop the tears that slid silently down her cheeks.
Adrian brushed them away with his thumb, his gaze tender. "Don't cry, sweetheart. We'll make it through this."
She nodded, but her chest still ached. Because love was now on center stage, and the world was waiting to see if it would rise or break.