Thank you so much — I really appreciate your encouragement 🤍
Let's keep the momentum str
🥺
The room was too quiet.
Not the comforting kind of quiet—this one pressed against Kiera's ears, thick with judgment before a single word was spoken. The Benson family sitting room looked like something out of a magazine: muted colors, expensive furniture that seemed designed never to be used, large windows overlooking a manicured garden that felt more like a statement than a place.
Kiera sat straight-backed on the edge of the sofa, hands folded in her lap.
Across from her sat Shane's parents.
His father, Richard Benson, had the composed stillness of a man used to being obeyed. His mother, Eleanor, wore elegance like armor—pleasant, polished, impossible to read. Shane stood beside Kiera, not touching her, but close enough that she felt the heat of him.
That mattered.
"We appreciate you coming," Eleanor said finally, her voice smooth. "We wanted to meet you properly."
Kiera nodded. "Thank you for inviting me."
Richard leaned forward slightly. "You understand why we're concerned."
It wasn't a question.
Kiera met his gaze. "I understand you have questions."
A flicker of surprise crossed Eleanor's face. Richard's mouth tightened.
"Shane's life," Richard said, "has always been… carefully planned."
Shane shifted. "That makes it sound like I don't have a say."
Eleanor turned to him. "You do. But choices carry consequences."
Kiera inhaled slowly. This was not about affection. This was about control.
"I don't intend to disrupt your son's future," Kiera said calmly. "I care about him. That's all."
Richard studied her, eyes sharp. "Care is rarely all."
Shane's jaw clenched. "This conversation is crossing a line."
"No," Richard said. "It's defining one."
Silence stretched.
Eleanor softened her tone. "Kiera, you come from… modest circumstances."
Kiera nodded. "Yes."
"You're ambitious," Eleanor continued. "Driven. Those are admirable traits. But proximity to power can complicate motivation."
There it was.
Kiera felt the familiar burn of shame try to rise—and refused it.
"I've survived without power," she said evenly. "I'm not here to borrow it."
Shane turned toward her, something fierce and proud in his eyes.
Richard leaned back. "Then tell us this. If this relationship jeopardizes Shane's trajectory—his partnerships, his reputation—would you step aside?"
The question landed like a trap.
Kiera felt her heart pound, but her voice stayed steady. "I wouldn't ask him to sacrifice himself for me."
"That wasn't the question," Eleanor said gently.
Kiera looked at Shane.
Really looked.
She saw the boy he'd been, the man he was becoming, the weight of expectation pressing against him from all sides.
Then she looked back at his parents.
"I won't make that decision for him," Kiera said. "Respectfully, that would be another form of control."
Richard's brows lifted.
Shane exhaled slowly, as if she'd just handed him oxygen.
After a moment, Eleanor stood. "I think that's enough for today."
The meeting ended without resolution—but not without impact.
On the drive back, silence filled the car. The city lights blurred past, reflections dancing across the windshield.
"You didn't have to protect me," Kiera said quietly.
Shane glanced at her. "You didn't need protecting."
She smiled faintly. "That's new."
He reached over, taking her hand at a red light. "You stood your ground. They weren't expecting that."
"I'm tired of being underestimated," she said.
"So am I."
When they reached campus, they didn't go inside immediately. They stood near the gate, the world humming around them, both absorbing what had just shifted.
"My family will push harder," Shane said. "They don't like losing control."
Kiera nodded. "Neither does the world."
He turned to her. "I don't want to lose you in the middle of this."
Her throat tightened. "I don't want to lose myself."
They stood close, the tension between them no longer just romantic—it was strategic, emotional, real.
From across the quad, Eliana watched them.
She didn't approach. She didn't interrupt.
She smiled.
And that smile unsettled Kiera far more than confrontation ever could.
That night, Kiera lay awake in her dorm room, staring at the ceiling.
For the first time, she wasn't afraid of losing Shane.
She was afraid of what staying might cost them both.
But beneath the fear was something stronger.
Choice.
And she had never had so much of it before.
.....