Chapter 15

Sophia leaned against her desk, trying to steady her breath after the tension-filled confrontation. Alexander's words still lingered in the air. "I protect what's mine."

The possessiveness in his tone had sent a shiver down her spine, but there was something else there too—a subtle promise, one that made her pulse quicken in ways she didn't want to acknowledge.

She had always prided herself on being independent, on being the one who called the shots in her life. Yet, when it came to Alexander, she was finding it harder and harder to maintain that control.

She ran a hand through her hair, trying to push away the unease bubbling in her chest.

A knock at the door startled her again, this time more tentative than before.

She opened it, finding Alexander standing there, his expression unreadable but his eyes dark with something unspoken.

"Can we talk?" he asked, his voice almost too soft.

Sophia stepped aside, nodding, though every instinct screamed at her to turn him away.

He walked in, closing the door behind him gently, then turned to face her.

"About earlier," he began, his voice steady, but there was an undercurrent of tension she could feel in her bones. "I didn't mean to make you feel cornered."

She raised a brow, arms crossed. "You didn't mean to?"

"I didn't," he repeated, his gaze intense. "But I will protect you, Sophia. Even if you don't want me to."

She didn't know what to say to that. Part of her wanted to argue, to push him away, but another part of her—the part she didn't want to acknowledge—was drawn to him, to the way he looked at her, as if she was the only thing that mattered in his world.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she finally managed.

"I never make promises I won't keep," he replied firmly. He stepped closer, closing the space between them until she could feel the heat of his body, the undeniable pull of him.

Her pulse raced, but she didn't move.

"You don't have to do this," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "We can stay out of this. I don't need your protection, your help."

"That's where you're wrong," he said, voice thick with emotion. "You do need it. You need someone who's willing to fight for you—someone who won't walk away when things get hard."

Sophia's throat tightened. "And what makes you think I'm ready for that?"

"Because I've been fighting for you from the moment I laid eyes on you," he said, his voice growing softer, more urgent. "And I will fight for you, Sophia, no matter what."

Her breath caught in her throat. The rawness of his words hit her harder than she expected. But she couldn't—wouldn't—let him see how much it affected her.

"I'm not ready for this," she said, stepping back, shaking her head. "I can't—"

But Alexander didn't let her retreat any further. He reached out, his hand brushing hers, sending a shock of electricity through her body.

"You don't have to be ready. Just trust me. I'm not going anywhere."

For a moment, everything else faded. The world outside the room, the complexities of their pasts, the struggles they both carried—they all seemed irrelevant in the face of this.

Her heart pounded in her chest, the pull to him too strong to ignore.

But then the weight of it all settled back in. She pulled her hand away from his. "I can't just forget everything that's happened. You don't know what it's like to carry this alone."

"I don't," he admitted, voice low. "But I do know what it's like to not have anyone you can trust. And I want to be that person for you."

Sophia closed her eyes, her mind a storm of conflicting emotions.

When she opened them again, Alexander was still standing there, waiting.

She felt the pull, stronger now than ever, but the fear, the uncertainty, still held her back.

She took a deep breath. "I don't know if I can let you in, Alexander."

He looked at her, his expression unreadable, but his voice was firm. "You don't have to let me in, Sophia. I'm already here. And I'm not going anywhere."

Sophia could only stare at him, the truth of his words settling into her chest.

But she wasn't sure if she was ready to let herself fall into the storm he was offering.

Not yet.