Chapter 10: Cracks

The noise came first.

Lena pulled up to the site expecting the usual hum of progress — the clatter of tools, the shouted jokes of workers. But what greeted her instead was silence.

Then the sound of shouting.

She climbed out of her truck, heart thudding.

A city official stood near the half-built framework of the house, clipboard in hand, face stony. Beside him, Mark — the site manager — was pacing like a man ready to explode.

"What's going on?" Lena asked, approaching.

Mark turned, his face grim. "They're shutting us down."

"What?" Her voice rose. "Why?"

The official spoke before Mark could answer. "Code violations. Improper permits. Potential zoning conflicts."

"That's impossible," Lena said. "We cleared everything weeks ago. The permits were verified twice."

He shrugged, unbothered. "That's not my concern. You'll have to appeal to the city."

She watched helplessly as red tape was slapped across the foundation beams — the skeleton of their dream now a battlefield.

Alexander arrived within the hour.

One look at his face and Lena knew he was done playing nice.

"They're bluffing," he said after a terse phone call. "Someone pulled strings. This kind of shutdown doesn't just happen overnight."

Lena folded her arms. "Claudia?"

Alexander didn't answer. He didn't need to.

Lena let out a shaky breath. "She's trying to get to you. Through me."

"I won't let her," he said.

But Lena wasn't so sure.

Because this wasn't just about sabotage — it was a message.

A warning: You don't belong in his world.

That night, Alexander showed up at her apartment without calling.

He looked tired — the kind of tired that didn't come from lack of sleep, but from fighting too many invisible wars.

"I had them push the appeal through," he said, sitting down heavily on her couch. "We'll be back up in two weeks."

Lena leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed.

"She's not going to stop."

"I don't care," Alexander said. "Let her come. Let them all come. I'm not giving this up. I'm not giving you up."

Her heart cracked open a little more at those words.

But fear was still there, crouched in the corners of her heart.

"She knows how to hit where it hurts, Alexander. She's in boardrooms, in city council meetings, on every guest list that matters."

"And you think I'm not?" he asked quietly.

She blinked.

"I've built empires," he said, rising slowly. "I've buried enemies. But none of it ever meant anything until I met you. And I won't let her — or anyone — use what we're building as a weapon."

He crossed the room in two long strides and took her face in his hands.

"You are not my weakness, Lena. You're my reason to fight harder."

Tears pricked her eyes. "Then fight with me. Not for me."

His lips brushed hers — soft, reverent.

"Always."

Later, wrapped in his arms beneath the soft flicker of candlelight, Lena whispered into the silence between them.

"Do you ever regret letting someone in?"

Alexander's breath was warm against her neck.

"Only the people I let in for the wrong reasons," he said. "You're not one of them."

Lena turned to face him fully.

"I don't want to be a mistake."

"You're the only thing that feels real," he whispered. "The rest of it — the money, the war with Claudia, the suits and power plays — it's all noise."

She pressed her forehead to his, anchoring herself in the truth of him.

But even as their fingers intertwined and their breathing slowed, Lena couldn't stop the quiet voice in the back of her mind.

What if the world doesn't care how much you love him?

What if it tears you apart anyway?