The night after the press conference felt long and heavy. Even with the city lights twinkling, the weight of everything happening around them hung in the air.
Emma tossed and turned in bed, her thoughts racing. Every word Celeste had spoken. Every headline. Every whisper online. Even though she stood beside Alexander and faced it all with her head high, deep down, she still felt like a girl stuck in a game she didn't ask to play.
The sheets were cold without Alexander beside her.
She sat up and padded quietly out of the bedroom, her silk robe trailing behind her. She found him in the kitchen, shirtless, drinking water straight from the bottle, looking like he hadn't slept either.
"You okay?" she asked softly.
He turned, surprised. "Couldn't sleep."
"Same."
For a moment, they just looked at each other. No words. Just the kind of silence that doesn't feel empty.
Alexander leaned on the counter. "We've done everything right. We told the truth. We gave them proof. But Celeste… she's not stopping."
Emma nodded, stepping closer. "She's dangerous, Alex. That break in? That was a warning."
His jaw clenched. She's crossed too many lines.
Emma touched his arm. "Then we draw a new one."
He looked at her hand on his skin, then slowly covered it with his own. "You're stronger than you think."
So are you, she replied.
He smiled just a little. Maybe together, we're strong enough.
By morning, the internet was buzzing with reactions to their press conference. Some believed them. Others still questioned. But one thing was clear: the world was watching.
Emma stayed off her phone as much as possible, but it didn't help. News channels replayed their speech. Gossip sites compared her outfit to royal weddings. Strangers had suddenly become obsessed with her life.
Alexander stayed busy. He had meetings, calls, lawyers reviewing every move Celeste made.
Emma, meanwhile, felt stuck in a glass box. She couldn't go out without cameras. Couldn't text without someone screenshotting. Couldn't think without worrying if it'd be used against her.
She was in the penthouse library, flipping through a book she couldn't focus on, when Mrs. Lawson, one of the housekeeper, walked in.
"Miss Emma," she said gently, "There's a visitor downstairs."
Emma's heart skipped. "Who?"
The woman hesitated. "She says she's your friend."
"Lila?" Emma stood up quickly.
Mrs. Lawson nodded. "She looks upset."
Emma rushed downstairs, not caring that she was still in her robe. The elevator doors opened, and there was Lila eyes red, holding her phone tight like it was her last lifeline.
"Lila! What's wrong?"
"Emma, I didn't know where else to go. Someone came to my job. A woman, Blonde, Tall, She...she threatened me."
Emma's stomach dropped. Celeste?
Lila nodded, her voice shaking. She said if I didn't tell her everything I know about you and Alex, she'd leak stuff about your Mom's debt. She has documents. Bank records.
Emma pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. You did the right thing coming here."
"I'm scared, Emma. This isn't just about you anymore."
Emma looked at her friend and realized Celeste wasn't just attacking Emma now. She was attacking everyone she loved.
Later that day, Emma stormed into Alexander's office.
"She's going after my family now, She's dragging my family into this."
Alexander stood from his desk. "I'll take care of it."
"No," Emma said, her voice sharp. "We will."
He watched her for a long moment. Then he nodded.
That evening, they had a team meeting in the penthouse. Lawyers. Security. A private investigator. Alexander wasn't holding back anymore.
We need everything on Celeste. Every dirty deal, every lawsuit, every time she blinked too hard, he ordered.
The investigator smirked. "We're already on it. And we've found something interesting."
He laid down photos and files. Emma leaned in.
It was Celeste arguing with someone in a parking lot. A man.
"That's Michael Reese," the investigator explained. "Tech entrepreneur. Used to be Alexander's business partner."
Emma's eyes widened. "Used to be?"
Alexander's expression darkened. "He betrayed me. Tried to steal one of my company's patents. We haven't spoken in years."
"And now he's working with her?"
Looks like it, the investigator confirmed. They've met four times in the last two weeks. We don't know what they're planning but it's not good.
Emma looked at Alexander. This isn't just personal anymore. It's business. Reputation. Your entire company.
"And you," he added softly. "They're coming after you, Emma. Because you're the one thing I care about more than all of this."
Her breath caught.
He didn't say it like a confession. He said it like a truth he'd been holding back for too long.
And maybe she'd been waiting too long to hear it.
That night, Emma couldn't sleep again. She stepped out onto the balcony, this time pulling on Alexander's hoodie instead of her robe. It smelled like him. Comforting.
A moment later, he joined her again just like the night before. But something felt different this time. Like the air between them had shifted.
"I thought being with you would be fake," Emma said quietly. "Like a role I had to play. But I don't feel fake anymore."
Alexander didn't speak, just listened.
"I'm scared," she admitted. "But when I'm with you, I feel safe. That scares me more."
He turned to face her. "You make me feel human again. Like I'm not just a number on Forbes or a headline."
She smiled sadly. "But headlines are loud. And love is quiet. What if they drown us out?"
"Then we get louder," he whispered.
And he kissed her.
Soft, wet, passionate, Sure, Not rushed, Not desperate.
Just real.
It wasn't the kind of kiss that said "this is part of the plan." It was the kind of kiss that said, "screw the plan, I'm choosing you."
When they pulled apart, Emma rested her forehead against his.
"No turning back now," she said.
Good, he replied. "I don't want to."
Elsewhere in the city...
Celeste stood in her high rise apartment, watching the press footage play again. Emma and Alexander smiling, kissing, fooling the world.
Kara sat nearby, nervously checking her phone. "They're winning, Celeste."
Celeste's eyes narrowed. "They think they're winning."
She opened a drawer and pulled out a flash drive.
This? This will burn them to the ground.
What is it? Kara asked.
Celeste smirked. Proof that Emma lied on her university application. That she forged her mother's income records to get a scholarship. If this goes public, she loses everything.
Kara hesitated. But that's years ago. People change. Grow.
Celeste glared at her. Weakness is weakness. And I don't forgive liars.
She grabbed her coat. Send the file to every major tabloid. It's time Emma remembers where she came from.
Back in the penthouse, Emma sat beside Alexander, her head on his shoulder as the city lights flickered.
She didn't know yet what storm was coming.
But for the first time in a long time, she didn't feel alone.