The silence after Clarisse left was suffocating.
Like a blanket too tight, but no one could move to take it off.
Ana stood by the counter, staring at the folder.
Christian's voice broke the stillness.
Soft.
Determined.
"We'll handle this. You don't have to—"
She shook her head before he finished.
"No. I need to handle this."
He stepped forward, hands in his pockets.
"Not alone. Not like this."
Her eyes met his, sharp.
Guarded.
"You're not a knight in shining armor, Christian. I didn't ask for you to fix this. I just—" She exhaled. "I need to face it."
Christian's gaze softened.
"I get that. But it doesn't mean you have to carry it alone."
He walked to the table, pulling out his phone.
"I'm calling my lawyer. We'll fix this today."
She turned, sharp but not ungrateful.
"Christian, it's my mess. Let me handle it."
⚔️ The Confrontation
He didn't give her time to argue further. His fingers hovered over his phone but stopped.
"Ana, listen to me." He was still calm, but his voice was firm. "We deal with this together. I don't care if it's about your father or your past or anything before we met. You're my wife now. And I'll fight for you like I should've been doing from the start."
Her chest tightened. He wasn't pulling away.
He wasn't backing down.
"This isn't your fight, Christian. It's mine."
His voice dropped. Gentle. Still powerful.
"It's our fight. I'm not walking out of this with just you. I'm standing with you. Always."
The weight of those words wrapped around her. She blinked, almost as if the last few days, the hurt and silence, had never happened. Maybe it was because Christian wasn't offering her a way out. He was pulling her into the storm, offering his shoulders to carry it with her.
She stood still for a moment before answering, her voice low.
"Then, let's go fight this."
Christian picked up the phone and dialed. He didn't care about any of the protocol — he called whoever he needed to call to make sure the debts, the fraud, and every damn bit of leverage used against her disappeared.
But the one thing he made sure to add, loud and clear, was:
"No more playing games with her. If anything happens to her… I'll take it from here. And you'll regret it."
💥 The Moment She Let Go
She watched him, trying to make sense of the power in his voice.
The power to bend worlds.
And for the first time, she wasn't fighting him.
She wasn't fighting anything.
She just held her breath and whispered:
"Thank you."
He hung up the phone and turned to face her, but this time… there was no hesitation between them.
No walls.
Just honesty.
"Ana, I should've been here when all this started."
His voice was quieter now.
No bravado.
Just raw.
"I was scared to fight for you, but now, I'm not afraid anymore."
She stepped closer.
Not as his wife or his project.
But as herself.
"I know. And I'll fight with you."
They stood there for a long time.
No more secrets.
No more pasts to bury.
To be continued…