Serris stands in the harsh light of the television studio, her platinum hair sleek against her jaw, a razor-cut sheath of midnight silk hugging every line of her body. Her lips are painted the deep red reserved for women who have already decided not to beg. Eyes glinting, she looks past the camera’s unblinking black eye, straight into the heart of the world. She can feel sweat beneath her arms, the weight of Lio’s gaze—somewhere in the wings, cuffed and waiting. The host’s voice is sticky with sympathy. “Is there anything you want to say, Serris?” The silence aches. Serris inhales, jaw flexing, and confesses—her voice sure, trembling only at the edges—“Yes. I’m done pretending. I love who I love. I choose the truth, even if it destroys me.”

Her hands tremble once, invisible in her lap, as the words land like glass shattering on tile. In the control booth, Olin’s polished hands curl into fists. He can’t touch her now, not with every camera in Hollywood turned this way. Serris feels the weight roll off her shoulders, lightheaded, a strange wildness rising beneath her ribs. She glances at the monitor, Lio’s face flickering on news tickers, and almost allows herself to hope.

Down the corridor, Lio paces in borrowed dress clothes, sleeves rolled to his elbows, worn tattoos peeking from starched cuffs. There’s blood at the corner of his mouth from biting it too hard. Corin is waiting for him, rumpled and raw, knotting and unknotting his tie with reckless hands. His eyes catch Lio’s with a bleak, bruised intensity. “You don’t have to take the fall. I’ll tell them—about the stunts, the sabotage. All of it.” Corin’s voice is small, unfamiliar. Lio stares, pulse stuttering, something tight cracking open in his chest.

“You’d ruin yourself for me?” Lio’s words are scornful, but his mouth trembles. Corin huffs a laugh that’s almost a sob. “I already have.” He presses a folder into the guard’s hands. “Tell the press. Tell them it was me.”

Security radios crackle. Flashbulbs stutter. In the midst of chaos, Lio is uncuffed, shoved toward freedom by the very man who once destroyed him. He doesn’t pause—he runs, body humming with adrenaline and fear and something painfully like hope, searching for Serris.

Ryven leans against a wall, hands shaking as he scrolls through his camera roll. His hair falls into his eyes, hiding whatever’s left of innocence. Vesta finds him in a shadowed alcove, touches his shoulder with tentative warmth. He wants to pull away, but her grip is gentle—she offers him the choice to stay. When their eyes meet, something gives: he lets her see the ache and hunger that have always bled into his art. She cups his jaw, presses her lips softly to his, a wordless benediction. He closes his eyes, forgiveness like salt on his tongue.

Meanwhile, in the dim corridor behind the chaos, Lio finds Serris, standing with her back against the hotel suite door. Her hair is wild now, makeup smudged by tears and triumph. The dress is half-zipped, shoulder bare, every inch of her trembling with adrenaline.

He reaches for her, voice thick. “You did it. You’re free.”

She pulls him in, breath shaking. “So are you. They can’t hurt us now.”

He’s on his knees, lips on the silk of her thigh, hands sliding beneath the dress, desperate and reverent. She tangles her fingers in his hair, gasping, her head falling back against the polished wood. “I missed you, I missed you—” She can’t make the words a sentence. He anchors himself with kisses and longing, climbing to his feet and lifting her onto the cool marble counter. The world narrows to heat and skin and the sound of her laugh breaking, finally, into sobs.

When it’s done, they’re tangled, sweat-slick, breathing each other in. Serris’s hands cup Lio’s jaw, her eyes shining with victory and the raw ache of survival.

Outside the suite door, Zian stands, face pale, fist clenched around his phone. Through the sliver of light, he watches them—envy and hunger twisting behind his eyes. As Lio and Serris cling to each other, Zian lingers in the hallway, the door quietly clicking shut between him and everything he’s ever wanted.