Inside the penthouse, Damien finally exploded.
"You should have waited for your escort!" he roared, pacing like a caged beast.
"I did! They were late!" Amelia shot back, furious tears burning her eyes.
"You should have stayed hidden!"
"I won't live my life hiding behind bulletproof glass, Damien!"
"Then you'll die!" he shouted, voice cracking.
Silence crashed over them.
Damien's chest heaved with the force of his anger — and something deeper.
Something raw and terrified.
Amelia stepped closer, reckless now.
"And why do you care so much?" she demanded.
"Why is it not enough for you to be my boss? Why do you look at me like I'm the only thing keeping you breathing?"
Damien flinched.
Real.
Wounded.
"Because you are," he said hoarsely.
The words broke something open between them.
Without thinking, Amelia surged forward.
Without hesitating, Damien caught her.
Their mouths collided — not gentle, not sweet.
Hungry.
Desperate.
A lifetime of unsaid things pouring into a kiss that felt like both salvation and ruin.
Damien cupped the back of her head, his grip almost bruising.
Amelia pressed against him, clinging to the one man who had seen her at her weakest — and refused to let her fall.
The world fell away.
The danger.
The fear.
The reasons they shouldn't.
Only this mattered now.
Only this.
When they finally pulled apart, gasping, Damien rested his forehead against hers.
"This changes everything," he rasped.
Amelia nodded, voice trembling.
"I know."
And she did.
There was no going back now.
No pretending they were just boss and employee.
Protector and protected.
They were something else.
Something infinitely more dangerous.
Outside, the storm raged.
Inside, Amelia and Damien stood locked in something fiercer than any tempest.
Something that could save them.
Or destroy them both.
The morning after the storm wasn't calm.
It was a battlefield.
Amelia woke in Damien's bed, sunlight slanting across the pristine sheets.
The space beside her was cold, empty.
He was already gone.
Of course he was.
Damien Raven didn't linger.
Not when the world was waiting to tear him apart.
She found him in the penthouse study, pacing behind his massive desk, barking rapid orders into his phone.
The edge in his voice was sharper than usual.
Cold steel wrapped in rage.
Amelia hovered at the doorway, uncertain.
He saw her — and for a fleeting second, his eyes softened.
But then the mask slammed down.
Professional.
Controlled.
Untouchable.
"Stay here," he said curtly, snapping his phone shut.
"What's happening?" Amelia asked, heart sinking.
Damien hesitated.
And that hesitation said more than any words could.
"The board is calling an emergency meeting," he said finally.
"Some members believe my... 'personal entanglement' with you compromises the company's reputation."
The words hit her like a slap.
Personal entanglement.
Like she was a scandal.
A liability.
"That's ridiculous," she said, crossing the room.
"You saved my life. You didn't—"
"It doesn't matter," Damien cut in harshly.
"Perception is reality in this world."
"And what are they going to do?" she whispered.
Damien's mouth twisted in a grim smile.
"They're going to try and force me out."
The ground shifted under Amelia's feet.
"Force you out?" she repeated, stunned.
"But Raven Corp is yours."
"No," Damien said quietly.
"It belongs to shareholders. To board members. To vultures who see weakness and smell opportunity."
He raked a hand through his hair, the gesture raw, unguarded.
"This — us — gives them ammunition."
Amelia's throat tightened painfully.
"I didn't ask for this," she whispered.
"I know," Damien said, voice softening.
He crossed to her, cupping her face gently.
"I made my choice, Amelia. No one forced me."
"But it's costing you everything."
He smiled — a sad, devastating smile.
"Some things are worth losing everything for."
Her heart cracked.
"Damien..."
He kissed her forehead — a brief, fierce press of his lips — then stepped back, armor snapping into place.
"I have to go," he said.
"Stay inside. Guards will be posted outside the door."
Amelia opened her mouth to protest, to tell him she wasn't a prisoner — but the look in his eyes stopped her.
This wasn't about control.
It was about protection.
It was about love, twisted into the only form Damien knew how to show it.
Without another word, he left.
Amelia stared at the door long after he was gone.
A knot of fear tightened inside her.
Not fear for herself.
Fear for him.
Because she knew — better than anyone — that sometimes, even the strongest men could lose.
And if Damien Raven fell, the whole empire would fall with him.
Including the fragile, impossible thing blooming between them.
Hours passed like years.
Amelia paced the penthouse, unable to sit still.
She thought about leaving — about going to the board meeting herself — but she knew Damien wouldn't forgive her interference.
This was his battle.
All she could do was wait.
And pray.
When the door finally opened, she spun around, heart in her throat.
Damien stepped inside — jacket slung over one shoulder, tie loosened, exhaustion carved deep into his features.
For one terrifying moment, she thought he'd lost.
Then he smiled — slow, fierce, defiant.
"They tried," he said hoarsely.
"They failed."
Relief crashed over her so hard she staggered.
Damien dropped his jacket, crossing the room in three strides.
He caught her face in his hands, his touch rough, trembling.
"I told them," he said against her mouth, "that if they wanted me gone, they'd have to drag me out."
"And they didn't?" she choked.
"They know better," he growled, before claiming her mouth in a bruising kiss.
This kiss was different.
Not hungry.
Not desperate.
Victorious.
Later, as they lay tangled together on the massive bed, Amelia traced patterns across Damien's bare chest.
"You didn't have to fight for me," she whispered.
"I didn't have a choice," he murmured, eyes closing briefly.
"You're under my skin, Amelia. You always were."
She pressed a kiss over his heart.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Good," Damien said, voice thick with emotion.
"Because I'm done pretending I can let you go."
For once, there were no more walls between them.
No more armor.
Only two people — battered, bruised, but still standing.
Together.
Outside, the city blazed with light.
Inside, Amelia and Damien built something stronger than power, stronger than fear.
Something neither boardrooms nor bullets could destroy.
Love.
Real.
Messy.
Unstoppable.
And finally, theirs.