Elizabeth stared up at him, her pride stinging, but her soul recognizing the absolute truth in his words. He wasn't being cruel; he was setting the terms of their engagement, but he was demanding she meet him on his level of strength.
She swallowed hard, her gaze steadying. The "professor" was gone, replaced by a woman who understood the weight of the man she was trying to tame.
"I can," she said, her voice low and filled with a new, quiet resolve.
She reached up, not to grab him this time, but to cup his cheek with a singular, focused tenderness. "I don't want to compete with them, Rex..."
"I just want to be the one who makes you forget they even exist."
Rex's smirk returned, slower and more satisfied this time.
"Now that," he murmured, leaning down to capture her lips again, "is a plan worth executing."
