Max moved then, his footsteps silent on the hardwood until he was close enough for her to feel the heat radiating off him.
"Don't be afraid, Ruby. I've been planning this move longer than you've been nursing your scars," he said, his voice dropping to a low, rhythmic hum. "Your war is with Seron. That is your only concern. The rest? I am the wall between you and the world. I will protect you with my life if I have to, but make no mistake, you are the one calling the shots."
Ruby exhaled, a long, shaky breath that felt like a surrender. For the first time since her world had splintered, a genuine, sharp smile touched her lips. She wasn't a pawn being moved across a board. She was the queen. She was the final move.
"I've assigned you a new security detail," Max continued, his expression softening into something dangerously close to affection. "The company is yours to command. Fire who you want. Revoke every authorization. I saw what you did today, Ruby. I'm impressed. Truly. No one will ever dare touch you again."
He smiled then, a soft, rare expression that hit Ruby like a physical blow. It was a look that melted the permafrost around her heart, cracking the ice she had spent years thickening.
Did he just smile at me again? she thought, her pulse beginning to betray her. Why does he make me feel like?
Her thoughts splintered into nothingness as Max suddenly reached out. With a fluid, effortless strength, he hooked an arm around her and lifted her clean off her feet.
Ruby gasped, her hands instinctively flying to his shoulders. The world tilted. She was caught in his gravity, dazed and breathless. What is he doing? Oh god, is he... is he really? Her mind spiraled into a chaotic blur of heat and heartbeat as he carried her away from the window.
Max didn't set her down. He carried her toward the velvet sofa in the center of the room, his grip firm yet remarkably gentle, as if he were handling something priceless and volatile all at once.
Ruby's heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. The silence of the house suddenly felt heavy, charged with a static electricity that made the fine hairs on her arms stand up. She looked up at him, her breath hitching in her throat.
"Please. Put me down, Sir," she whispered.
The title hit him like a physical spark. Max stopped mid-stride. His jaw tightened, and a dark, hungry flicker ignited in his eyes. The "Sir" was not a reflex of her submission to the power he held, but her distance and what their relationship meant to define. He knew that, but hearing it from her lips right now at this moment with her this close seemed to snap the last thread of his professional restraint.
"Sir?" he echoed, his voice dropping an octave into a rough, gravelly purr. He didn't put her down. Instead, he pulled her closer, bridging the final inch of space until her chest was pressed against his. He looked at her not as a business partner or a strategic asset, but as a man who was starving.
"We are far past 'Sir,' Ruby," he murmured, his gaze dropping to her mouth before rising back to her wide eyes. "I want to hear something else. Call me darling."
Ruby's breath caught. "Darling?" she repeated, the word feeling foreign and dangerously sweet on her tongue.
"Yes," he whispered, his thumb tracing the line of her lower lip. "Say it."
"... darling," she breathed,
The sound of it was his undoing. Max leaned in, closing the gap with a kiss that wasn't the cold, calculated seal of a contract. It was warm, tasting of aged bourbon and a sudden, desperate longing. It was a kiss that promised protection, yes, but also something deeper, a claim. His hand slid into her hair, tilting her head back as he deepened the kiss, his touch melting the last of the ice in her veins.
When he finally pulled away, his forehead rested against hers, both of them breathing in the same shared air. He looked at her with a vulnerability she hadn't known he possessed.
"Better," he whispered.
As he finally set her feet back on the plush rug, Ruby felt unsteady. Her lips were tingling, and her mind was a whirlwind of confusion. She watched him walk toward the carafe to pour a drink, his movements as poised as ever.
Is this just another layer of the game? she wondered, her hand trembling as she touched her mouth. Is he making me love him so I'm a more loyal soldier in his war? Or did the ice finally crack for him, too?
She couldn't tell where the performance ended, and the man began, and that was the most terrifying part of all.
Meanwhile, late at night, the board meets at Mia's house. Mia didn't sit. She paced.
"That girl," she said sharply, heels clicking against the marble floor, "walked in here like she owned generations of blood, sweat, and secrets."
"She does own it," one director muttered. "On paper."
Mia stopped and turned slowly. "Paper burns." Malvin loosened his tie, eyes narrowed. "She humiliated us. Fired the CFO in front of everyone. Reassigned capital without asking. That wasn't leadership, that was a declaration of war."
"And Seron let it happen," another board member added. "He stood there like a neutered dog."
Seron's jaw clenched, but he said nothing. Acacia folded her arms. "Ruby is acting bold because she thinks she's protected. By Max. By the board charter. By sentiment."
"Sentiment doesn't last," Mia snapped. "Fear does." She finally took her seat at the head of the table.
"Here's the truth," she continued. "Ruby Emerald isn't dangerous because she's smart. She's dangerous because she's angry, and anger makes people sloppy." Malvin leaned forward. "So wait, we watch her destroy everything, with all our secret I'm not going to jail."
"No," Mia said calmly. "We dig, we scare her enough to run." "Into what? With what?" Seron asked sharply.
Mia's eyes slid to him. "Her." Silence.
"Everyone has leverage," she went on. "Debt. Family. A secret they thought was buried. Ruby walked in like a queen, but queens bleed when you cut deep enough." Acacia smiled thinly. "Her mother. Hospital records. Surgeries aren't cheap."
Seron looked up sharply. "Leave her family out of this. Ruby is not the one we should be focusing on; it's my father. She is just a pawn in his game."
Mia's gaze hardened. "You'd better stop thinking like her ex-husband and start thinking like a Byron."
That landed. Malvin exhaled. "We also have Ace." At the name, the room shifted.
"Ace Brown?" one director asked. "Yes," Malvin said. "He will know what to do."
"I don't take orders from anyone," Mia said slowly, "this isn't about love." Everyone looked at her. "This is about Max burning the house down and using Ruby as the match."
Seron stood abruptly. "Ruby is innocent. Max is just using her." Mia studied him for a long moment. Then smiled, cold, knowing.
"Pawn or not, we make Ruby choose."
"Choose what?" Acacia asked.
"Power," Mia said, "or survival." She pressed a button on the table. The lights dimmed slightly.
"It's simple, I know the drill just so well, we freeze the suppliers. Quietly. Create delays she can't explain."
"Then we leak concerns to the press. 'New CEO underqualified. Emotional conflict of interest.'"
"We seal the grave," she said, voice lowering, "we introduce Ace Brown back into the picture."
A pause. "And if that doesn't work?" one board member asked. Mia's smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Then we remind Ruby Emerald that crowns can be taken… and marriages can be broken." Seron swallowed hard. Mia was already on the phone. For the first time since the divorce, he felt it.
Fear. Because this time, Ruby wasn't alone. And that made her a threat worth destroying.