The room shrank or maybe it just felt that way, with Kian standing behind her like a loaded weapon and Luca in front of her like a memory she'd buried alive.
Talia swallowed hard. She hadn't seen Luca Romano since the fallout. Not since he disappeared the same week Kian's world imploded. And now he stood here, too calm, too collected, as if time hadn't exploded between them.
Kian's voice was low and sharp. "Want to tell me what the hell is going on?"
Talia stepped forward, just enough to put air between her and Kian's heat.
"Luca was… my father's legal counsel."
"That's a lie," Luca said calmly. "I wasn't just legal. I was damage control. The kind you don't list on corporate directories." Kian's eyes narrowed. "So what are you doing here now?"
"I'm here," Luca said, gaze fixed on Talia, "because she deserves the truth. And so do you."
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Talia's pulse throbbed in her ears. Her fingers twitched at her sides. Kian stepped around her, coming face to face with Luca like two predators circling the same prey.
"You disappeared," Kian said. "Right after she betrayed me."
Luca nodded once. "I had to. Your father made sure of it."
"My father?" Kian growled.
Talia's eyes widened. "Wait" what are you talking about?"
"I was supposed to broker a hostile takeover," Luca said. "Not from your side, Kian. From his. Your own father. He wanted you out. And he used her father to do it."
Kian looked like someone had punched him in the gut. "That's not possible."
"Is it?" Luca asked, coolly. "He thought you were reckless. Too emotional. Too attached. To her. To the company. He wanted to remove you from power without scandal."
Talia's stomach turned.
"So they pinned it on me," she whispered.
Luca nodded. "They made her sign the contract by threatening to expose the Voss family's hidden debts. Bankruptcy. Jail. She didn't betray you, she protected you."
Kian turned toward her, his face unreadable.
"You signed the deal because they threatened you?"
Talia's voice was raw. "I thought if I signed it quietly, they'd leave you alone. That they'd let you walk away without dragging your name through the mud."
He stared at her. Silent. Still.
Then: "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you would've fought back," she said, voice breaking. "You would've burned the world down for me. And I couldn't let you get caught in that fire."
Kian turned away.
Ran a hand through his hair.
The storm inside him was visible, in the rise of his shoulders, the clench of his fists, the war in his eyes.
Luca stepped back. "I'll let you two… finish this."
As he walked out, he glanced at Talia, and for the first time, she saw it guilt.
She'd been alone all this time. But not because no one knew because no one had spoken.
When the door shut, Kian finally turned back and something inside him cracked.
"I hated you," he said softly. "Every day. Every night. I used other women. Bought them. Broke them. Just to stop thinking about you."
Talia's voice shook. "I know."
He stepped forward.
"I wanted to make you crawl. To make you beg. But even when I had you in my office, wearing a collar, shaking under my hand…" His voice broke. "I still wanted to protect you."
Tears slipped down her cheek.
"I never stopped loving you," she whispered.
He reached for her slowly, like he was touching something holy.
His hand cupped her cheek. "I don't want your submission," he said.
"What do you want?"
His lips brushed hers.
"Your forgiveness."
Then he kissed her. Not like the others.
Not angry. Not punishing. This kiss was slow. Painful. Reverent.
Like he was trying to memorize the shape of her heartbreak with his mouth.
Her body melted against him. Her hands tangled in his shirt. He lifted her effortlessly onto the edge of the desk.
Her blouse came undone. The collar still hung beneath it.
But this time, he didn't comment. He just kissed her throat. Her collarbone. The curve of her breast like prayer, like penance.
And when he finally slid into her slow, deep, worshipful they both exhaled the years of silence between them.
After, they lay tangled in silence, the storm inside them finally still. But peace was short-lived because Talia's phone buzzed with a single message from an unknown number.
"If Kian finds out the rest, he won't be asking for your forgiveness next time."