Connor — The Deal He Calls Choice
John Hollingsworth did not rush conversations.
He let silence do the work.
Connor stood near the window of the private dining room, London spread beneath him in cold geometry. He hadn't sat. Sitting felt like surrender.
"You asked to see me," Connor said finally. "So speak."
John folded his napkin with deliberate care. "You're tense."
"You leaked my engagement," Connor snapped. "You put my past on a boardroom screen like a weapon."
John looked up calmly. "No. I reminded the right people that you are… vulnerable."
Connor turned sharply. "You used Amaiyla."
John didn't deny it. "I protected her."
A bitter laugh tore from Connor's chest. "By destroying me?"
John's gaze sharpened. "By preventing her from choosing you."
The words hit harder than Connor expected.
"You don't know her," Connor said tightly.
John stood, slow and measured, and approached the window until they stood side by side.
"I know exactly who my daughter is," John said. "She chooses loyalty over safety. Emotion over calculation."
Connor swallowed.
"And men like you," John continued, "believe love entitles you to risk her future."
Connor clenched his fists. "That's not true."
John turned to face him. "Then prove it."
Connor hesitated.
John smiled faintly.
"There it is," he said softly. "The pause."
Connor exhaled sharply. "What do you want?"
John returned to the table and placed a slim folder in front of him.
"Distance," John said. "Compliance. Silence."
Connor stared at the folder. "For how long?"
John's voice was gentle. "Until she no longer feels pulled in your direction."
Connor laughed hollowly. "You think feelings work on deadlines?"
"No," John replied. "I think men do."
Connor's jaw tightened. "And if I refuse?"
John's tone remained calm. "The Madrid file becomes public. Not speculation. Not implication."
Connor felt the room tilt.
John added quietly, "Amaiyla will never forgive you for that."
Silence stretched.
Connor stared at the folder like it was a loaded gun.
"This isn't a choice," he said.
John inclined his head. "Of course it is. You can burn — or you can step aside."
Connor picked up the folder.
Just for a second.
"I'm not giving her up," Connor said, voice hoarse. "I'm protecting her."
John smiled — not cruelly, not kindly.
Knowingly.
"That," he said, "is the lie you'll need to believe."
Connor nodded once.
He signed.
Tammy — Pressure Without Fingerprints
Amaiyla noticed the shift before she could name it.
It wasn't anything Tammy said.
It was where she stood.
Where she sat.
Which silences she let stretch — and which ones she cut short.
Tammy didn't hover. She appeared.
At breakfast. In the hallway. On the terrace just as Amaiyla stepped outside to breathe.
"You didn't sleep," Tammy remarked casually, handing her a cup of coffee she hadn't asked for.
Amaiyla accepted it automatically. "Neither did you."
Tammy smiled faintly. "I sleep when I've secured the perimeter."
Amaiyla frowned. "Around me?"
Tammy met her gaze. "Around the decisions being made for you."
They walked slowly through the garden, gravel crunching underfoot.
"You're angry at your father," Tammy said.
Amaiyla stiffened. "You don't know that."
"I know leverage," Tammy replied calmly. "And John Hollingsworth doesn't pull it unless he's afraid of losing control."
Amaiyla's grip tightened around the cup. "Xander thinks he's protecting me."
Tammy stopped walking.
"That," she said quietly, "is where this gets dangerous."
Amaiyla turned to her. "Explain."
Tammy studied her carefully. "Men like Xander are trained to absorb damage without flinching. They don't ask if they should step in. They only calculate whether they can."
Amaiyla swallowed. "He didn't ask me."
"No," Tammy agreed. "And neither did your father."
Amaiyla's voice dropped. "So what am I supposed to do? Choose between them?"
Tammy shook her head. "You're supposed to make them react to you."
Amaiyla stared. "How?"
Tammy leaned in slightly. "By asking questions they don't want to answer."
Amaiyla's pulse quickened. "Like what?"
"Why your engagement needed to be public now," Tammy said softly. "Why Harold Reyes is suddenly quiet. Why Xander hasn't left your side even when it costs him."
Amaiyla's breath caught.
Tammy straightened. "You're not collateral, Amaiyla. You're the axis."
Amaiyla laughed weakly. "That doesn't feel empowering."
Tammy's eyes sharpened. "It shouldn't. Power is uncomfortable when you weren't trained to carry it."
Amaiyla looked away. "You're pushing me."
"Yes," Tammy said. "Because if you don't step forward willingly, someone will shove you."
Xander — The Line He Crosses
Harold Reyes did not raise his voice.
He didn't need to.
"You're overextending," Harold said calmly through the secure line. "This isn't sentimental."
Xander stood in the study, phone pressed to his ear, gaze fixed on the far wall.
"You pulled funding," Harold continued. "You rerouted security. You exposed our position."
Xander didn't respond.
"Say something," Harold said.
Xander did.
"I did exactly what I intended to do."
A pause.
Harold's tone cooled. "You're confusing strategy with attachment."
Xander exhaled slowly. "No. I'm correcting your assumption."
"And what assumption is that?"
"That Amaiyla Hollingsworth is expendable."
The silence on the other end was immediate.
"You're choosing her," Harold said carefully.
"I'm choosing reality," Xander replied. "You pushed too hard. John pushed harder. Connor broke exactly when predicted."
Harold scoffed. "And you think this makes you righteous?"
"No," Xander said evenly. "It makes me necessary."
Harold's voice sharpened. "You're compromising leverage."
Xander's jaw tightened. "I'm eliminating it."
A dangerous pause.
"You don't defy me," Harold said quietly.
Xander's voice didn't rise. "I already have."
"You think this ends well?"
"I think it ends honestly," Xander replied. "Which is more than you ever planned."
Harold exhaled slowly. "You're emotionally compromised."
Xander closed his eyes briefly — then opened them.
"Yes," he said. "And that's precisely why this time you miscalculated."
The line went dead.
Xander lowered the phone.
For the first time in his life, his father hadn't had the last word.
Convergence
Amaiyla found Xander on the terrace just before dusk.
He looked… different.
Not shaken. Not angry.
Resolved.
"You spoke to him," she said.
"Yes."
"And?"
He met her gaze. "He knows."
Her heart pounded. "About what?"
"That I won't step back."
Silence stretched between them.
"You're choosing sides," she whispered.
Xander stepped closer. "I'm choosing consequence."
Her voice trembled. "And me?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then, quietly: "Yes."
The word landed with terrifying weight.
Somewhere in London, Connor convinced himself he'd done the right thing.
Somewhere in Paris, Tammy smiled — just slightly.
And Amaiyla stood between two men who had both made choices about her…
Knowing that very soon, she would make one of her own.