"Mr. Alcaraz, are you... okay?"
Anabel's voice broke the silence carefully, like she was testing the surface of thin ice. She had been standing by his desk for several minutes, shuffling papers and pretending to review her notes, but her eyes kept flicking toward him. Her boss—the man who never wasted a second, never allowed silence to linger—had been staring blankly at the city skyline for over an hour.
It unsettled her. Liam Alcaraz was not a man who sat idle. He was sharp, relentless, commanding. Meetings bled into phone calls, phone calls bled into strategies, and his mind was always two steps ahead of everyone else. She was used to his clipped orders, his precise questions, the way he ran his office like a machine that never dared slow down.
But now? Now he sat behind his desk like a statue, his chair slightly angled toward the glass windows, one hand slack against the armrest, the other motionless beside his untouched glass of scotch. The documents she had placed in front of him—urgent contracts, reports that usually consumed his attention—lay untouched.
She had never seen him like this.
Not once.
"Sir?" she pressed gently, taking a tentative step closer. "You've been... quiet since the boardroom."
Nothing. No flick of his eyes, no sharp remark to wave her off. Just silence.
Anabel shifted uncomfortably. In the years she'd worked for him, Liam's silences were weapons—deliberate, heavy, designed to make people squirm. But this wasn't that. This wasn't power. This was something else. Something that unnerved her more than his temper ever could.
It was as if his mind wasn't in the room at all.
Her chest tightened with unease as she studied him, really studied him. The man who usually carried himself with an untouchable confidence looked... haunted. His jaw was tense, his eyes unfocused, and though his body hadn't moved, she could almost feel the war raging behind his stillness.
"Mr. Alcaraz," she tried again, her voice softer this time, almost uncertain. "Are you sure you're alright?"
At last, he blinked, dragging his gaze away from the glass as if it had taken everything in him to return to the present. His eyes flicked to her—distant, unreadable—but for the briefest moment, she thought she caught something raw there. A flicker of emotion he never allowed anyone to see.
Then, just as quickly, it was gone.
He leaned back slowly in his chair, exhaling a breath that sounded heavier than it should have. "Cancel the rest of my meetings."
Anabel's brows lifted. "All of them, sir?"
"Yes." His tone was flat, clipped, but it lacked its usual steel. It sounded almost tired. "I don't want to be disturbed."
She hesitated, clutching her clipboard. In all the years she had served under Liam Alcaraz, she could not remember a single time he had willingly stepped away from work. He was the man who thrived on it, who devoured challenges like oxygen.
And yet here he was, shutting it all out.
She nodded, masking her surprise. "Of course, sir."
As she quietly slipped out of the office, she couldn't help but glance back one last time. He was still there, staring into nothing—his empire at his fingertips, his name commanding power across the city—yet he looked like a man losing a battle no one else could see.
And though Anabel would never dare say it out loud, the truth struck her with unsettling clarity.
For the first time, Liam Alcaraz didn't look untouchable.
He looked human.
The door clicked shut behind Anabel, her heels retreating down the hall until silence swallowed the office whole again.
Liam leaned forward, elbows braced against the desk, dragging a hand down his face. His skin burned hot, though the room itself felt cold—the kind of cold that seeped into bones and wouldn't let go.
He had thought he was prepared. Eight years had passed—long enough to bury her, long enough to build an empire so vast and consuming it left no room for ghosts. Mia Villaruiz was supposed to be nothing more than a scar, a shadow he could glance at without feeling.
But yesterday, the second she stepped into the boardroom, all of that collapsed.
Her presence had struck him like a blow he hadn't braced for—familiar yet foreign. No longer the girl with soft eyes and quiet resilience. Time had carved her into something sharper, stronger. Her chin had lifted in defiance when their eyes met, her voice steady, unwavering. She hadn't flinched. She hadn't shown an ounce of weakness.
And yet he had seen it.
The way her fingers tightened around her pen. The faint hitch in her breath when she said his name. That flicker in her eyes—hurt, betrayal, anger—all of it buried but not gone.
It gutted him.
For years he had told himself he'd done the right thing by letting her go. That walking away had been necessary, inevitable. He'd repeated it like gospel until it became truth. But seeing her again had ripped apart every carefully built defense.
And today, Vale had sent over the final assignment.
Liam's jaw clenched as his eyes fell again on the folder sprawled across his desk. The name scrawled in bold print mocked him.
Lisbeth Ortiz.
Not Mia.
His pulse roared in his ears. He flipped the pages once, twice, as if some mistake might leap out at him—but there was no mistake. Vale had reassigned the case. Mia was gone.
Liam shoved back from his chair so violently it scraped across the floor. The folder snapped shut under his hand with a vicious slap.
"No."
This wasn't how it was going to end.
"Anabel!" His voice cracked through the air, sharp enough to rattle the glass walls.
She appeared almost instantly, wide-eyed. "Sir?"
He thrust the folder toward her, his expression hard, unyielding. "Call Vale. Now."
She blinked. "But sir, I already confirmed with his office. The decision is final. The firm assigned Attorney Ortiz—"
"I don't care what Vale's office says," Liam cut her off, his tone like steel. He turned toward the window, his fists tightening until his knuckles went white. "Ortiz won't do. I want Mia Villaruiz on this account. No substitutions." His gaze snapped back to her, dark and cold enough to freeze her in place. "Tell Vale it's her or no one."
Anabel faltered, startled. She had worked for Liam long enough to see him ruthless, even merciless—but never like this. There was an edge to his voice that unsettled her, something far more personal than business. For the first time, she wondered if this wasn't about the company at all.
"Yes, Mr. Alcaraz," she murmured, forcing her voice steady before slipping out again.
Alone once more, Liam pressed both hands to the edge of his desk, his head dropping forward.
He shouldn't be doing this. There were plenty of lawyers who could handle the case. Ortiz was perfectly capable. No one would question his decision to move forward with her.
But it wasn't Ortiz he wanted across that table.
It wasn't about contracts. It wasn't about strategy. It wasn't even about winning.
It was about Mia.
He would never admit it—not to Anabel, not to Vale, not to anyone. He would bury the truth beneath business terms, cloak it in excuses of leverage and precision. But deep inside, Liam knew the truth he couldn't escape.
If Mia wasn't the one sitting across from him, then he wasn't just losing a lawyer.
He was losing her.
And Liam Alcaraz—who had built empires from nothing, who had bent rivals to their knees—would rather burn every bridge than let that happen.
Mia Villaruiz was going to face him again.
She was going to represent his company.
No matter what it took.
Anabel returned a few minutes later, a folder clutched to her chest, her expression carefully neutral. But there was a tension in her shoulders as she spoke.
"Mr. Alcaraz... Vale's office confirmed it. The reassignment is final. Attorney Lisbeth Ortiz will handle your account moving forward."
For a moment, the silence was deafening.
Then Liam's chair scraped back, the sound harsh against the polished floor. He rose slowly, every muscle tight with barely controlled fury. His eyes burned, dark and dangerous, locking on Anabel in a way that made her forget to breathe.
"That won't do." His voice was low, almost too calm, but the kind of calm that carried storms. "Not now. Not ever."
Anabel had seen him angry before—cutthroat in negotiations, ruthless in boardrooms—but never like this. There was something unhinged simmering beneath his composure, a rawness that unsettled her more than if he had shouted.
"Sir—" she began carefully, "Vale insisted it was non-negotiable. Miss Villaruiz declined, and—"
"Get Richard on the phone," Liam snapped, cutting her off, his tone cracking like a whip. "I'll speak to him myself."
She hesitated, almost out of instinct. "Mr. Alcaraz, I should warn you—"
"Now, Anabel!" His fist slammed onto the desk with such force the glass of water beside him trembled, ripples spreading across its surface.
Anabel flinched, her heart racing as she fumbled for her phone. She had never—never—seen him like this. Liam Alcaraz was a man of control, a master of restraint. Yet here he was, pacing like a caged animal, his breaths uneven, his jaw clenched hard enough to crack.
She dialed Vale's office and placed the receiver in Liam's hand, then quietly stepped back, though she couldn't help but linger, curiosity warring with unease.
Liam's voice cut through the line with sharp precision. "Richard. I'll keep this short. I only want Mia Villaruiz. If she is not the one representing my company, then I'll look for another law firm. I don't care who else you throw at me, or what excuses you make—it's her, or no one."
There was a pause as Vale's muffled voice argued on the other end, but Liam didn't budge. His tone only hardened. "Then find a way to handle your own employee. That's your problem. Mine is simple. I want Villaruiz. Don't waste my time with anyone else."
He ended the call with a decisive click, tossing the receiver back onto the desk. His chest rose and fell sharply, his knuckles whitening as he braced his hands against the polished surface.
Anabel stood frozen near the door, her clipboard pressed tightly to her chest. Her boss's outburst replayed in her mind, sharper than any of his legendary negotiations. She had worked under Liam Alcaraz for years, had seen him bend competitors to their knees without raising his voice. Yet this... this was different.
This wasn't about strategy. This wasn't about contracts.
It was about her.
As Anabel slipped silently out of the office, her thoughts swirled. For the first time, she found herself wondering if her famously untouchable boss—the man immune to charm, distraction, or weakness—had finally cracked.
Had Liam Alcaraz fallen for Attorney Villaruiz all over again?
Because no matter how much he tried to bury it beneath business, Anabel had seen it plain as day. The fury, the desperation, the edge in his voice.
This wasn't about winning the case.
This was about Mia.
And from the look in Liam's eyes, Anabel knew he wouldn't stop until Mia Villaruiz was sitting across from him again—whether she wanted to be there or not.
Richard Vale prided himself on being unshakable. In courtrooms, in boardrooms, even in private deals behind closed doors, he never let anyone rattle him.
Until today.
Liam Alcaraz had called him directly. Not just called—demanded. His voice had been clipped, furious, leaving no room for negotiation.
"I only want Mia Villaruiz. If she doesn't represent my company, I'll find another firm. Don't waste my time with Ortiz, Vale. It's her, or no one."
The line had gone dead before Richard could even form a proper rebuttal.
For the first time in years, Richard Vale found himself backed into a corner. Losing Alcaraz as a client wasn't an option. The account was worth millions in fees, not to mention the prestige of representing one of the youngest, most powerful CEOs in the country. But more than that, Richard's instincts screamed that this was personal. He'd seen many clients in his lifetime, but Liam's insistence on one particular lawyer—an associate, no less—wasn't about business. It was something else.
And that left Richard with only one option.
Mia was at her desk the next morning, buried in files, when her office line rang. She picked it up without thinking, her voice steady.
"Attorney Villaruiz."
"Mia," came the familiar, commanding voice of her boss. "My office. Now."
Her stomach dropped. Richard Vale didn't summon people lightly. With a quiet breath, she set her pen down, straightened her blazer, and made her way to his corner office.
The moment she stepped inside, she felt the weight of his gaze. He didn't waste time with pleasantries.
"Close the door."
She obeyed, her palms suddenly damp.
Vale leaned back in his leather chair, steepling his fingers. "Do you know why you're here?"
Mia shook her head cautiously. "No, sir."
He slid a folder across the desk toward her. She recognized it instantly—Liam's account. Her chest tightened.
Vale's voice was calm, but there was an edge beneath it. "Alcaraz wants you. Specifically you. He's refused Ortiz, refused anyone else. He says if you don't take the lead, he'll walk away from the firm."
Mia's breath stalled. The room seemed to shrink around her. "Sir, with respect... I don't think I'm the right fit—"
"Stop." Vale's tone cut her off like a blade. He leaned forward, eyes sharp. "Do you understand what this means? Alcaraz is not just any client. This account could define the next decade of this firm's reputation."
"I know," she whispered, struggling to steady her voice. "But I—"
He didn't let her finish. Instead, his tone shifted, lower, almost coaxing. "Mia... you've been with me long enough to know I don't hand out titles easily. But if you agree to lead Alcaraz's account, I'll do more than put you in charge of this case."
She blinked, stunned.
"I'll make you partner," he said evenly.
Her heart thundered in her chest. For a moment, she couldn't speak. Partnership was something she'd dreamed of since law school—something years away, if not longer. Associates clawed at each other for the chance, and now, here it was, dropped in front of her like an impossible gift.
All she had to do was say yes.
But saying yes meant Liam.
It meant sitting across from him, hearing his voice, feeling the sharp pull of the past every single day.
Mia's hands tightened on the folder, her knuckles white. "You... you'd make me partner?" she whispered, barely able to believe her own words.
Vale nodded once, firm. "If you want it. All it takes is one word. Yes."
Mia swallowed hard, her mind a storm. The future she'd worked for—prestige, power, security—was within reach. But it came chained to the one man who had broken her beyond repair.
Her lips parted, but no words came out.
For the first time in her career, Mia Villaruiz was utterly stunned, caught between everything she had ever wanted... and the one man she swore she'd never face again.