The evening had fallen over the city like a velvet cloak, wrapping the skyline in golds and deep blues.From the corner office on the top floor of Blackthorne Tower, Amelia stood silently by the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching as the lights of New York flickered to life one by one.
She felt... suspended.Like she was trapped between two worlds — one foot still in her old life, the other trembling on the edge of something unknown and terrifying.
And Liam Blackthorne was the reason.
There was a knock at the door.Her heart jumped into her throat.
Before she could say anything, Liam entered.
He wasn't wearing a suit tonight.Just dark slacks and a white dress shirt, the top few buttons undone, the sleeves rolled to his elbows.It was the most casual she had ever seen him — and somehow, the most devastating.
There was no armor between them anymore.
No pretenses.
Just raw, simmering tension.
He didn't speak at first.Just looked at her.And she realized, with a jolt, that there was something different in his eyes tonight.
No manipulation.No calculation.
Only a desperate kind of honesty.
"Amelia," he said softly, "I can't keep doing this."
She turned fully to him, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"Doing what?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"Fighting it," he said roughly. "Fighting us."
He crossed the room slowly, almost cautiously, like he was afraid she might bolt.
When he stopped a few feet away, Amelia could barely breathe.
"I never meant for it to happen like this," he said. "You were supposed to be part of a plan. A strategy."
Amelia's stomach twisted painfully.
He was admitting it.
Confirming what she had always feared.
"But then you walked into my life," he continued, voice low and raw, "and nothing made sense anymore."
She closed her eyes, as if she could block out the words.
But she couldn't.
"I tried to stay away," Liam said. "Tried to keep you at a distance. But you..." His voice broke slightly. "You made me want more."
He took another step closer.
"And now, I can't pretend anymore."
Amelia opened her eyes.
The vulnerability on Liam's face nearly undid her.
This powerful, ruthless man was standing in front of her, stripped of all defenses, offering her the one thing she had thought he was incapable of giving.
His heart.
Still, part of her resisted.
"Why now?" she whispered. "Why are you telling me this now?"
Liam's jaw clenched.
"Because if I wait any longer," he said, "I'll lose you."
Amelia's breath caught.
"I see the way Julian looks at you," Liam said, his voice tight. "I see the way you look back. And it kills me."
She flinched at the mention of Julian, guilt and confusion crashing over her.
"I don't want you to choose me because you feel trapped," Liam said fiercely. "I want you to choose me because you want to."
Amelia's hands trembled at her sides.
"Liam..." she began, but again, he didn't let her finish.
He closed the final distance between them, reaching out to gently cradle her face in his hands.
The heat of his touch made her knees weak.
"I love you, Amelia," he said hoarsely. "God help me, I love you."
The world seemed to tilt.
For a moment, all she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat thundering in her ears.
She stared up at him, seeing the man beneath the billionaire, the man beneath the ruthless strategist.
And he was beautiful.
Terrifying.
Real.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"Why now?" she whispered again, her voice cracking.
"Because I was too much of a coward before," Liam said bitterly. "Because I thought I could control this... control you."
His thumbs brushed her cheeks, wiping away the tears that had slipped free.
"But I can't," he said. "And I don't want to."
For a moment, they just stood there, breathing each other in.
Then, slowly, carefully, Liam lowered his mouth to hers.
The kiss was nothing like the ones they had shared before.
It wasn't about power.Or control.Or possession.
It was about surrender.
About trust.
About love.
Amelia clung to him, feeling her walls shatter, her defenses crumble.
She kissed him back with everything she had — all the fear, all the longing, all the desperate, aching hope she hadn't dared admit until now.
When they finally broke apart, Liam rested his forehead against hers, breathing hard.
"I'm not perfect," he whispered. "I'm not even good. But I'm yours, if you'll have me."
Amelia's heart ached so fiercely she thought it might tear apart.
Because part of her wanted to believe him.
Wanted to step into his arms and never look back.
But another part — the cautious, wounded part — whispered that love wasn't always enough.
That sometimes, even the fiercest love couldn't survive betrayal.
She stepped back, gently but firmly, breaking the physical connection between them.
Liam's face tightened, but he didn't try to stop her.
"I need time," she said again, her voice shaking.
"I know," he said, his eyes dark with emotion. "I'll wait. However long it takes."
She gave him a trembling smile.
And for the first time, she believed him.
Truly believed him.
Later that night, lying alone in her bed, Amelia stared up at the ceiling.
Her lips still tingled from Liam's kiss.Her body still ached for his touch.
But her mind was spinning.
Because loving Liam — truly loving him — meant stepping into a world of risk.A world where trust was fragile and betrayal lurked in every shadow.
Could she do it?
Could she give him her heart and hope he wouldn't destroy it?
She turned over, pulling the covers tighter around her.
Somewhere deep inside, she already knew the answer.
But making that leap — making that choice — would change everything.
And once she chose, there would be no turning back.