Vincent paces in his dim office, shoulders tense as the city’s glow crawls across the windows. He startles at the sharp, measured tap of heels—Tessa steps in, a poisonously sweet smile on her lips, an envelope pinched between manicured fingers. “You think you’re invincible, Vincent?” she murmurs, letting the paper slide across his desk. He skims the contents and his entire body coils with dread: evidence of the secret deal that could implode him, and Leclair, for good. Her fingers brush his jaw. “Give me what I want, or everyone will know what you’ve done.” Before he can react, Tessa’s mouth finds his—hungry, dangerous—but he pulls away, disgust and desire battling under his skin.

Downstairs, the atelier’s after-hours hush is broken by Luca’s nervous laughter as he finds Riley hunched over a glass of something strong, her eyes glassy and distant. “You going to talk to me, Hart, or should I just keep talking to your drink?” he teases, but the edge in his voice betrays him. When she meets his gaze, something cracks—she lets him see it all: confusion, longing, fear. Luca’s facade dissolves. “I’m sick of pretending. I love you, Riley. And if you’re just going to keep chasing someone who’ll break you, maybe you need to know someone already cares.”

Silence stretches thick between them. Riley presses trembling fingers to her lips, lost—she can taste Vincent on her skin, can see the hope in Luca’s eyes. “I don’t know what I want,” she whispers. Luca leans forward, brushing a thumb along her cheek, but she pulls away before their lips can meet. The wound is clean and deep, leaving both raw.

Upstairs, Delaney stands at the edge of Vincent’s office, her composure a crumbling mask. “You’ve crossed too many lines. We’re hanging by a thread—the board’s ready to force you out, Vincent. And I’m not sure I can keep saving you.” Vincent spins, pain vivid in every word. “Don’t pretend you’re just here for the business. You never got over us. Neither did I.” The accusation lingers, heavy, as Delaney’s eyes well with tears she won’t let fall.

“The problem is, you only want me when I’m out of reach,” she spits back. The air between them snaps with years of love, anger, mistakes. In a moment that feels both inevitable and shattering, Vincent reaches for her, his grip desperate as their mouths crash together—hungry, grieving, both remembering and forgetting everything that came before. Their hands tangle in fabric, sharp with longing, but Delaney finally shoves him back, breathless and furious. “I won’t lose myself in you again,” she chokes, wiping her mouth, stepping away like she might never come back.

Downstairs, Riley watches the clock, heart thundering with indecision. Her phone buzzes—a message from her mother: “Meet me now, or it’s goodbye forever.” At the same instant, Luca steps out from the shadows, voice trembling. “Please, just… give us a chance, Riley. I won’t ask again.” She stares between the door and Luca’s open hands, every part of her stretched thin between past and future, desire and regret.

As she bolts into the night, uncertain where she’s truly going, a single flashbulb flares—Tessa, stalking the corridors above with her phone, locks eyes with Delaney. “You don’t even know what he’s done, do you?” Tessa purrs, her voice a promise and a threat. All the secrets are slipping free.

To be continued...