Lina
The headline appeared three days later.
I saw it before Victor did.
Or maybe he saw it and didn't tell me.
Billionaire CEO Spotted Leaving Late-Night Meeting With Unknown Woman
The photo wasn't clear enough to be scandalous.
But it was clear enough to be me.
I stared at the screen in my kitchen, coffee growing cold in my hand. The article itself was speculation dressed as journalism vague references to Victor's "sudden change in priorities," hints that the board was uneasy, questions about whether he was becoming distracted.
And then there was the photo.
Victor stepping out of my building.
Looking up at my window.
Like he belonged there.
My stomach twisted.
Not because it wasn't true.
Because the world had noticed.
My phone buzzed.
Victor.
I answered immediately.
"I saw it," I said before he could speak.
Silence stretched for a second.
Then his voice came through, calm but tight. "I'm already handling it."
"You can't handle gossip," I said softly.
"No," he replied. "But I can handle how it affects you."
That was the problem.
Everything about this affected him.
But the world would tear me apart first.
"I knew this would happen," I said.
"And you still stayed," he answered.
I closed my eyes briefly.
"Yes."
A pause.
Then he said something that made my heart stumble.
"Come to my office today."
"That's a terrible idea."
"I know."
"So why"
"Because hiding you will make it worse."
My breath caught.
Victor had always been careful.
Strategic.
Controlled.
But this?
This wasn't strategy.
This was choice.
"I'll come," I said quietly.
Victor
The board meeting started badly.
It ended worse.
"You're being careless," Robert said from the end of the table.
Robert always sounded disappointed rather than angry. It was somehow more irritating.
"It's a photograph," I replied calmly.
"It's a pattern," another board member added.
I leaned back in my chair.
"What pattern would that be?"
Robert folded his hands. "You've been distracted."
"I closed two acquisitions this month."
"That's not the point."
Of course it wasn't.
The point was control.
Men like them tolerated ambition.
They tolerated power.
But unpredictability made them nervous.
And Lina was something they couldn't calculate.
"She's not involved in the company," Robert continued.
"Then why are we discussing her?" I asked.
No one answered immediately.
Finally Robert sighed.
"Because the press will."
I stood.
The meeting was over.
"Then let them," I said.
Lina
Walking into Victor's office felt different now.
People looked up.
Not politely.
Curiously.
Whispers followed me down the hallway.
His assistant gave me a small, sympathetic smile.
"He's expecting you."
Of course he was.
Victor was standing near the window when I walked in, jacket off, sleeves rolled slightly. He turned the moment the door closed.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
Then he crossed the room.
"You shouldn't have had to see that article," he said.
"It wasn't cruel," I replied.
"Not yet."
That word sat between us.
I studied him carefully.
"You knew this would happen."
"Yes."
"And you still"
"Yes."
I let out a slow breath.
"You're incredibly stubborn."
His mouth twitched faintly.
"So I've been told."
The tension in the room wasn't romantic.
It was heavier than that.
Real.
"What does this mean?" I asked finally.
Victor didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stepped closer not touching, just close enough that I could feel the quiet gravity of him.
"It means," he said carefully, "that if I step back now, they'll think you were a mistake."
"And if you don't?"
"They'll try to make you one."
I swallowed.
"That's comforting."
His gaze softened slightly.
"I never promised easy."
"No," I said. "You didn't."
Silence settled again.
But it wasn't uncertain anymore.
It felt like standing at the edge of something large.
Then Victor did something unexpected.
He reached for my hand.
Not privately.
Not hidden.
Right there in the middle of his office.
"Let them look," he said quietly.
My heart pounded.
"You really don't do things halfway, do you?"
"No," he said.
And for the first time since the article appeared, I smiled.
Elena
Elena read the article with mild interest.
Then she read it again.
Not for the gossip.
For Victor.
For the way the photograph captured him looking up at that apartment window.
Like the world below didn't matter.
She leaned back in her chair slowly.
"Well," she murmured.
"That's new."
Her assistant glanced up.
"Should we respond to the press inquiries?"
Elena smiled faintly.
"No."
She closed the article.
"Let's see how far he's willing to go first."