The city skyline sparkled like a galaxy stretched across glass and steel. From the rooftop of the Lu Group Tower, it felt like the world below had faded away, leaving only two people behind.
Liyana stood near the edge, a thin breeze tugging at her silk coat. The night was unusually quiet, even for a city that never slept.
She didn't turn when she heard footsteps. She already knew.
"You're late," she murmured.
Damien came to stand beside her, a takeout bag in hand and a familiar smirk on his lips. "I brought your favorite dumplings. I think that buys me five minutes of forgiveness."
She tilted her head toward him, amused. "Two minutes. And only because I skipped dinner."
"Harsh." He handed over the bag. "You've been avoiding me."
"I've been working," she corrected, though her voice softened.
"Mm. And working includes rejecting every dinner invitation I sent this week?"
Liyana finally looked at him. His hair was tousled by the wind, tie loosened, coat open. The city lights bathed his profile in silver.
He looked tired. But he looked like home.
"I needed space, Damien," she said. "After the scandal. After everything Qin pulled… I needed time to think."
He leaned against the ledge beside her, watching her face instead of the view. "And?"
"I'm still thinking."
He didn't argue. Didn't push. Just stood there, offering quiet instead of pressure.
She opened the dumpling box, using the chopsticks he handed her without needing to ask. They ate in silence for a few moments, like they had done so many times before—in between battles, boardroom wars, and stolen kisses.
Finally, Damien said, "I know it's been rough lately. Qin overstepped. And if I hadn't been so damn blind—"
"You're not to blame for her actions."
"But I should've seen it coming," he said quietly. "She was always territorial. Even in college."
Liyana raised an eyebrow. "Did you two ever—?"
"No," he answered immediately. "Never. She wanted something that wasn't hers to have. And when she realized it, she lashed out."
"And what is hers to have?" Liyana's voice held an edge of steel beneath the softness.
Damien's gaze locked onto hers.
"Nothing that belongs to you," he said simply. "Especially not me."
That silenced her.
The wind danced between them. Their closeness no longer charged with hostility, but something heavier. Intimate. Honest.
"I saw the interview," Liyana said. "You defending me like that. Calling out the media. That wasn't just corporate damage control."
"It wasn't," he admitted. "I couldn't stay quiet while they tried to tear you down. I'd rather torch the whole damn media network than watch them twist your name."
Liyana looked away, toward the glowing skyline. "You're dangerous when you care."
"I'm dangerous either way. But when it comes to you?" He stepped closer, his voice lowering. "I don't care if it makes me reckless. I'd burn every bridge if it means protecting you."
There it was again—that obsessive edge. That devotion that frightened her and thrilled her all the same.
She set the food aside and faced him fully now.
"I don't want to be your weakness, Damien," she said quietly.
"You're not," he said, taking her hand. "You're my strength. You're the reason I don't just rule, I rise."
Her breath caught.
The rooftop light flickered behind them. The world below went on, unaware that two corporate titans were quietly slipping into something far more dangerous than war—love.
He cupped her face gently. "Come home with me."
"Why?" she whispered, heart pounding.
"Because I miss waking up with your hair all over my chest. Because my bed's too cold. Because I can't think straight when you're not near. Because…" He hesitated, then said, softer, "Because I'm in love with you."
Liyana's eyes glistened—not with tears, but with quiet war.
The battle within her raged: pride versus longing, walls versus truth.
But tonight, she let herself choose what she always denied herself.
She kissed him.
Slow, deep, and devastating.
When she pulled away, she murmured, "One night."
Damien's smile was soft and dangerous. "I'll take it. For now."
They left the rooftop hand in hand—two rivals lost in the glow of city lights, no longer just opponents in power, but bound by something far more lethal.
Something like love.