And she realized something terrifying: she didn't want to imagine facing any of this without him.
That thought lingered long after the room had fallen silent.
Aria lay awake on the narrow bed, staring at the dim ceiling lights embedded into the concrete above her. The underground safe house felt too quiet, too controlled like the world had been placed on mute while danger paced just outside the door.
Her body was exhausted, but her mind refused to rest.
Every sound felt amplified. The faint hum of electricity. The low vibration of hidden machinery. The distant echo of footsteps somewhere beyond the walls. Each noise made her tense, her heart racing as memories of the previous night replayed without mercy.
SUV doors slamming. Gravel crunching. The metallic clink that had frozen her blood.
Run.
Jayden's voice echoed in her head.
She turned onto her side, clutching the thin blanket tighter around herself. She had never been this afraid before not even in her worst moments of uncertainty, not even when life had thrown her into chaos.
This fear was different.
This fear had a name.
Jayden.
Not because she feared him but because everything dangerous seemed to orbit him.
And yet… he was the only reason she was still breathing.
The realization twisted something deep in her chest.
Before she could stop herself, she sat up and swung her legs off the bed. The floor was cold beneath her feet, grounding her. She needed air. Space. Something to quiet the storm in her head.
The door slid open with a soft hiss.
Outside, the underground corridor stretched wide and clean, illuminated by soft white lights. It looked nothing like a hiding place. It looked like a facility built by someone who never expected to lose.
Jayden.
She followed the corridor instinctively, guided by distant voices and the faint glow of larger screens ahead. As she rounded the corner, she saw him.
Jayden stood in the command center, jacket discarded, sleeves rolled up, his focus locked onto the massive wall of screens in front of him. Data streamed endlessly maps, financial charts, security feeds, encrypted messages.
He hadn't slept.
She could see it in the tension of his shoulders, the faint shadows beneath his eyes. Yet he stood tall, controlled, like a man born to stand in the middle of storms.
"You should be resting," he said without turning.
Aria stopped short. "How did you know it was me?"
He finally looked over his shoulder. "I hear everything down here."
Something about the way he said it made her uneasy.
She crossed her arms, suddenly unsure why she'd come. "I couldn't sleep."
"I expected that." He turned back to the screens. "Sit."
It wasn't a command. It was an invitation.
She took the seat beside him, eyes scanning the displays. "Are they close?"
"No," he said. "But they're active. That's worse."
Her stomach tightened. "You keep saying 'they.' Who exactly are they?"
Jayden's fingers paused on the keyboard.
"People who don't exist on paper," he said slowly. "No official names. No public records. They operate through proxies, shell companies, and hired hands."
"Like ghosts," Aria murmured.
"Exactly." He glanced at her. "And ghosts are hardest to fight."
She swallowed in fear and asked him. "Why are they after you?"
Jayden leaned back, exhaling slowly. "Because I refused to play by their rules."
"What rules?" she asked "
"The unspoken ones," he said. "The ones that say power should remain in certain hands. That money should move in certain directions. That people like me should know their place."
Aria frowned. "You're one of the richest men in the country. What place are you supposed to know?"
"Their place," he replied coldly.
A chill ran through her.
Jayden stood and began pacing slowly. "I built my empire without their approval. I dismantled monopolies they controlled. I exposed deals they buried."
"And they want revenge."
"They want control," he corrected. "Revenge is emotional. Control is business."
Aria hesitated before asking the question burning her chest. "And me?"
He stopped pacing.
"You were never part of the equation," he said. "Until you were."
She stood too, heart pounding. "Why?"
"Because they saw you with me," he said bluntly. "Because they saw I cared."
Her breath caught. "You… care?"
His gaze softened for half a second—just enough for her to see it.
"Yes," he said quietly. "And that was my mistake."
The words hurt more than she expected.
"So what happens now?" she asked.
Jayden turned back to the screens and pulled up several profiles blurred faces, redacted names, financial trails.
"Now," he said, "we stop hiding. And we build an alliance."
Aria blinked. "An alliance with who?"
"People who owe me," he replied. "People who hate them. People who are tired of being controlled."
She shook her head slowly. "This sounds like a war."
Jayden met her eyes. "It is."
Silence fell between them, heavy and dangerous.
"You don't have to stay," he added. "I can move you somewhere safe. New identity. New life."
Aria laughed bitterly. "And pretend none of this happened?"
"Yes."
She stared at him, disbelief mixing with something stronger. "You think I could do that? After everything?"
He didn't answer.
"you know imyalready involved now," she continued. "Whether you like it or not. They know my face. My name."
Jayden's jaw tightened. "That's exactly why I wanted to protect you."
"And treat me like what?" she shot back. "A liability? A weakness?"
"No," he said firmly. "Someone I don't want to lose."
The honesty in his voice stole her breath.
She stepped closer to him, lowering her voice and said. "Then stop deciding for me."
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he nodded once.
"Fine," he said. "You stay. But you follow my rules."
"What rules?"she asked "
"Trust me," he replied. "Even when it's hard."
Her heart pounded. "And if I can't?"
"Then we're both in trouble."
Hours passed as Jayden began briefing her real briefings, not fragments. She learned about financial warfare, corporate espionage, power plays disguised as philanthropy.
She realized something frightening.
Jayden wasn't just reacting.
He had been preparing for this for years.
By the time exhaustion finally claimed her, she understood one thing clearly:
This wasn't about money.
This was about survival.
The alarm echoed through the underground facility, sharp and relentless.
Aria jumped to her feet, heart hammering. "Inside? How is that possible?"
Jayden was already moving, fingers flying across the controls. "It shouldn't be."
The screens shifted rapidly, security footage flickering from one corridor to another.
No intruders.
No forced entry.
Nothing.
"That's the problem," Jayden muttered.
Aria hugged herself tightly. "What does it mean?"
"It means someone I trusted built a door I never closed."
The words sent a chill through her.
Jayden shut down the alarm manually, his jaw clenched. "We're safe for now. This wasn't an attack."
"Then what was it?"
"A reminder," he said. "They want me off balance."
He turned to her, expression unreadable. "And they're willing to dig up the past to do it."
Aria hesitated. "What past?"
Jayden walked toward a private room off the command center. "Come with me."
Inside, the atmosphere shifted. This room felt different less fortified, more personal. A single desk. A glass wall. A city map pinned with old markings.
Jayden sat heavily in the chair.
"I don't talk about this," he said.
Aria remained standing. "Then why tell me?"
"Because they're using it against you now."
He looked up at her. "I wasn't always careful with people's hearts."
Her chest tightened.
"There was a woman," he began. "Years ago. She wasn't supposed to matter."
"But she did."
"Yes," he said quietly. "I trusted her. I told her things I shouldn't have."
Aria felt sick. "And she betrayed you."
"She sold information," he said. "My weaknesses. My fears. My plans."
"And now they think I'm the same mistake," Aria whispered.
Jayden stood abruptly. "You are nothing like her."
"But they don't know that."
"No," he agreed. "They don't."
The tension between them was thick, unspoken emotions pressing dangerously close to the surface.
"I won't let them use you," he said. "Even if it means destroying everything I built."
Aria stepped closer. "And what if I don't want to be protected like that?"
He looked at her sharply. "This isn't a game."
"I know," she said. "That's why I'm still here."
For the first time, something in Jayden cracked.
"You don't understand what standing beside me costs," he said hoarsely.
"Then teach me."
Silence stretched.
Finally, Jayden nodded.
"Then you become part of the plan," he said.
The words felt like a line crossed.
That night, as Aria lay awake once more, her phone vibrated softly.
Unknown number.