The proposal came in a silver envelope.
No name.
Just a location and a time.
Midnight.
She went.
Not because she trusted them.
But because she wanted to know who believed they could buy her now.
The room was dimly lit.
Minimal.
Across the table: a man in a steel-grey suit, flanked by two silent guards.
He smiled like he already knew her answer.
"You're smart," he said. "That's why I'll keep this simple."
He slid a photo across the table.
Rafael.
Alone.
Vulnerable.
A red mark across his chest—a sniper's crosshair.
Aaria didn't blink.
"You're threatening the wrong person."
"We're giving you a choice," the man corrected. "You leave him. Walk away. Quietly. He survives. You get your life back. Free, rich, untouched."
Aaria stared at the photo.
Then smiled.
"You think I want a life untouched?"
The man's brows rose.
"I don't want a life I don't bleed for," she said. "And I sure as hell don't want one that doesn't come with him in it."
She stood up.
"Tell your boss he should've aimed for me."
Back at the penthouse, Rafael was on the terrace, drink in hand, storm in his eyes.
He knew where she'd been.
He knew what they'd offered.
But he didn't ask.
Not until she stepped into the light beside him.
"Well?" he asked. "Did they offer you the world?"
She nodded. "They did."
"And?"
"I told them I already had it. He just happened to have your name."
His throat tightened.
But his voice was quiet.
"You should hate me, Aaria."
She walked to him, eyes fierce.
"I did," she whispered. "In the beginning. I hated the way you looked at me like you already owned me. I hated that you never asked for my pain—you just knew it."
"And now?"
"Now I hate that if I lose you, I might forget how to breathe."
He kissed her hard.
Like glass shattering. Like every line between obsession and love just blurred to ash.
She kissed him back like he was made of smoke and she was done running from fire.
Afterward, she lay against him, bare skin tangled with his, her voice just a whisper:
"Let them come. Let them try."
And Rafael, breath still unsteady, murmured:
"They won't survive you."