CHAPTER FOUR
Kiera learned quickly that routines could be deceptive.
They wrapped themselves around you gently, offering comfort, pretending to be harmless—until one day you realized they had become your lifeline.
By the end of her first week at the Nightwell penthouse, she knew Leo's schedule by heart. She knew which cereal he liked on weekdays, how he hated socks with seams, how thunderstorms made him crawl silently into the corner of the couch with his knees pulled to his chest. She knew the exact tone of voice that calmed him, the stories that made him smile, the songs his mother used to hum that he still remembered.
And she knew Kade Nightwell watched all of it.
He never interrupted. Never commented. But his eyes followed every interaction, sharp and unreadable, as if he were afraid that if he looked away, the fragile peace would vanish.
This morning was no different.
Kiera stood at the stove, stirring oatmeal while Leo sat at the counter drawing. The city beyond the glass windows was gray with rain, clouds hanging low and heavy.
"Storm's coming," she said lightly.
Leo nodded. "I don't like loud ones."
"I know," she replied. "We'll stay inside today. Maybe build a pillow fort."
His eyes lit up just a little.
Behind her, Kade entered the kitchen, already dressed for work. His presence shifted the air instantly—quiet authority, restrained energy. He stopped short when he saw Leo smiling.
It was rare.
"Morning," Kiera said.
"Morning," he replied, his gaze lingering on her for a second too long before moving to his son.
"Dad," Leo said softly.
The word still startled Kade every time. He hid it well.
After breakfast, Kade lingered longer than usual, checking emails he'd already read, sipping coffee he wasn't drinking. When Kiera gathered art supplies to set up in the living room, he followed her.
"You don't have to stay in today," he said. "I can arrange—"
"Leo wants to," she interrupted gently. Then added, "If that's okay."
Something shifted in his expression. Respect. Trust.
"Of course," he said.
The rain came hard by midmorning. Thunder cracked overhead, loud enough to make the windows tremble. Leo froze, crayon slipping from his fingers.
Before Kade could react, Kiera was already beside him.
"It's okay," she whispered, pulling him into her arms. "I've got you."
Leo clung to her, trembling.
Kade stood helplessly nearby, a familiar ache spreading through his chest. He hated this feeling—watching someone else soothe his son when he didn't know how. He'd tried everything after Leo's mother died. Therapy. Silence. Distractions. Nothing worked.
Until her.
"Come on," Kiera said softly. "Fort time."
They dragged cushions and blankets into the living room, creating a small cocoon of fabric and shadows. Leo crawled inside, breathing easier. Kiera followed, smiling.
"See? Safe."
Leo nodded, then looked past her.
"Dad?" he asked.
Kade hesitated.
"Come in," Kiera said, holding the blanket open.
For a long moment, Kade Nightwell—billionaire, strategist, man who controlled rooms with a glance—stood frozen.
Then he lowered himself and crawled inside the makeshift fort.
The space was small. Intimate. Their shoulders brushed.
Thunder roared again, but Leo didn't flinch.
Kade felt something crack.
Later, when Leo fell asleep mid-story, his head resting on Kiera's lap, Kade watched her stroke his hair with infinite patience. There was no expectation in her touch. No demand.
Just care.
"You're good with him," he said quietly.
She didn't look up. "He's easy to love."
The words hit him harder than he expected.
After lunch, Kade retreated to his office, but work refused to cooperate. Numbers blurred. Meetings dragged. His thoughts kept drifting back to the living room—to laughter, warmth, to a woman who didn't belong in his carefully controlled world.
By evening, the rain had slowed to a drizzle.
Kiera was setting the table when Kade approached her, tension visible in the set of his shoulders.
"There's something you should know," he said.
She stilled. "Okay."
"My company—my life—it's constantly under scrutiny. Media. Board members. Investors. They don't forgive weakness."
"I'm not—"
"I know," he cut in, then softened his tone. "What I mean is… people will notice you. Already have."
Her stomach tightened.
"This isn't a warning," he added. "It's honesty."
"I can handle it," she said quietly. "I've handled worse."
He believed her.
That was the problem.
That night, after Leo was asleep, Kiera stood on the balcony, wrapped in a cardigan, watching the city lights blur through lingering rain. The cool air calmed her racing thoughts.
She sensed him before she heard him.
"You shouldn't be out here," Kade said. "It's cold."
"I like it," she replied. "It reminds me I'm here. That I made it out."
He joined her, keeping a careful distance.
"Out of where?" he asked.
She hesitated. Then, "A place where love was earned through silence."
He looked at her sharply.
"That bruise," he said slowly. "There were more, weren't there?"
She nodded once.
Something dark flickered in his eyes—anger, restrained and dangerous.
"No one will touch you like that again," he said.
The certainty in his voice made her breath catch.
"Kade—"
"This isn't me crossing a line," he added quietly. "It's me stating a fact."
The city hummed around them, alive and uncaring.
She turned to face him, their closeness undeniable now. She could see the exhaustion etched into his features, the weight he carried alone.
"You don't have to protect me," she said.
"Maybe I want to."
The words hung between them, charged and unspoken.
They both stepped back at the same time.
Lines.
They existed for a reason.
Later, alone in her room, Kiera pressed her hand to her chest, trying to slow her heartbeat. She knew this feeling. The pull. The hope.
And she knew how dangerous it was.
Across the hall, Kade poured himself another drink—then poured it down the sink.
For the first time in years, he was afraid.
Not of losing control.
But of wanting something he was never meant to have.
Because Kiera Frost wasn't just becoming part of his life.
She was becoming his weakness.
And forbidden love, he knew, always demanded a price.
The he remembered, his fiancee Selena is coming tomorrow.