Page 124 of Celestial Combat

“I am here to protect you. That’s it. We can’t again,” He said, barely above a whisper. “Ever.”

The air between us shattered into silence. It was the kind of moment that lingered just long enough to scar. My lips still tingled. My chest felt hollow. And yet, even with the achebuilding beneath my ribs, I stepped past him without another word and slid into the backseat.

The door shut behind me like a verdict.

Zane walked around the front, climbed into the driver’s seat, and started the engine. The growl of the car filled the space, but neither of us said a thing.

The city passed in smudges of neon and shadow outside the window. I watched him in the rearview mirror. His profile carved sharp in the soft glow of streetlights. Eyes locked on the road like he was trying to outrun whatever just happened.

My thoughts drifted – uninvited – back to the last time I sat in this backseat. A week ago. Drunk. Laughing. Teasing him. Sliding my legs across the leather with way too much confidence. I remembered the way his jaw had clenched, how his knuckles had whitened on the wheel.

Tonight, though… He’d broken.

And so had I.

He glanced in the mirror – caught me looking.

Our eyes met. Just for a second.

Then I dropped my gaze and turned to the window, wrapping my arms around myself as the cool air brushed my skin. My heartbeat was too loud. My mind too full.

I knew, even before we broke apart, that nothing between us would ever go back to the way it was.

We had crossed a line.

And there was no turning back.

Chapter 32

Present

Midtown, New York City

THE SILENCE IN THE CAR was unbearable – thick with the weight of everything left unsaid.

Morning light filtered in through the windshield as Zane drove, one hand resting casually on the wheel, the other perched near the gearshift. He looked every bit as composed as always – dark shirt rolled at the sleeves, watch glinting at his wrist, jawline severe in the glow of passing sunlight.

I, on the other hand, in thefront passenger seatinstead of in the back, felt like a walking contradiction. My pulse fluttered every time his gaze flicked toward me.

When we left his loft this morning, and he opened the front door for me, watching me wordlessly – I couldn’t find the words to argue

When he pulled up to Python’s underground garage and parked in his reserved spot, we got out and headed towards the elevator.

Once we made it to the gym, I didn’t look back. I spotted Tony immediately – seated at his usual corner table in Python’s café, dressed in his dark athletic gear.

His espresso sat in a porcelain cup, steam curling from it like smoke from a lit fuse.

“Morning,principessa,” He said with a shark grin as I approached.

“Hey,” I breathed with a smile, before he could read too much in my face.

Tony’s eyes flicked up. I felt Zane’s presence far behind me, quiet but charged. They nodded at each other in mutual respect.

Zane didn’t say goodbye. Just walked off in the opposite direction toward his sleek glass-walled office.

As Tony and I headed into the gym, I finally let myself breathe again.

But even as I started warming up, and as Tony adjusted the weights and grinned like he knew something I didn’t – I felt Zane’s absence like a pulse at my back.