It was raining when Grace cracked
Not a dramatic storm , not lightning , just a steady relentless rain whispering against glass, soaking the city in silver.
She stood alone in her office, staring out the window at the traffic crawling through downtown , her reflection looked back at her composed, polished and unreadable perfect façade.
But inside, she was unraveling.
Every day since that night and since that kiss, since Liam refused to go back to pretending and had been a balancing the act.
Meetings where their knees almost touched under the table. Elevator rides where the air thickened between them. Glances stolen like secrets.
He hadn't kissed her again. Hadn't even tried.
But he was always there , present and still waiting. Watching her with those storm colored eyes that said 'I'm not backing down. Not this time'
And she ,God help her also wanted him. Wanted to let go ,to fall , but fear kept her upright. Fear of being weak , fear of losing herself in someone else's gravity
Fear that if she gave in, she wouldn't come back the same.
A knock sounded
Her pulse jumped slightly
She didn't need to turn cause she already knew.
"Come in," she said softly.
The door opened and closed as Footsteps approached
Liam didn't speak. Not at first.
He stood behind her in silence, the air charged between them.
"You've been avoiding me again," he finally said.
"I've been working."
"You've been hiding"
She didn't deny it
He moved closer, his voice low. "Why are you so scared of feeling something real"
She exhaled, her breath fogging the glass. "Because once I start, I won't be able to stop."
"Maybe you're not supposed to."
She turned then, eyes burning with the pressure she'd buried for days.
"This isn't just about us, Liam ," she said. "You're the face of a billion-dollar empire and I'm the daughter of a sitting governor, with media claws in every part of my life. One wrong move and I'm either the scandal, the headline, or the girl who slept her way into a boardroom."
"You really think that little of yourself?"
She flinched "No , I think the world will twist anything to suit its narrative."
He stepped forward, so close she could feel the heat of him.
"Then let's rewrite the narrative."
"You make it sound so easy."
"It's not. But you're worth hard things, Grace ."
Her throat tightened. "Don't say that."
"Why not?"
"Because I want to believe it."
Silence pulsed between them and then his hand reached out, brushing a raindrop of a tear from her cheek
She hadn't even realized she was crying.
"I see you," he whispered. "All of you. Not just the governor's daughter. Not just the ice queen with perfect plans. I see the woman who fights for people who don't have a voice. Who stands up when others stay silent. Who challenges me because she cares."
She looked at him, her armor cracking wide open.
"I don't know how to let go," she whispered.
"You don't have to," he said. "Just hold on to me instead."
And that was it.
The breaking point.
Her walls didn't crash they crumbled gently .
She leaned into him. Let her head fall against his chest. Let his arms wrap around her like an answer to a question she didn't know how to ask.
They stayed like that, unmoving, as the rain wrote poetry against the windows
Just silence.