Page 117 of Collide

“Wait—what?” I gape at her. “Riley.”

She grins, backing toward the door. “You kids behave.”

Alex, the absolute menace, smirks. “No promises.”

Riley waggles her brows at me. Then she’s gone.

The second the door clicks shut, a different kind of silence settles.

The kind that hums with possibility.

I turn toward Alex, exhaling a soft scoff. “That was subtle.”

He laughs. “Extremely.”

A pause.

The air between us shifts as the weight of unspoken words settles in.

He leans back in his chair, but there’s nothing relaxed about the way he’s watching me. The way his fingers drum lightly against the table, like he’s holding back from reaching for me. Like he’s waiting for me to stop running.

Then, he speaks.

“Any reason why you’ve been avoiding me lately?” His lips curve into a smirk, but there’s an edge beneath it. A quiet tension.

I exhale, my fingers tracing the rim of my wine glass. There’s no dodging it now.

“If I’m being honest,” I start, choosing my words carefully, “it’s all been…overwhelming.”

Alex’s smirk fades, his expression shifting into something softer, more attentive. He doesn’t interrupt.

I exhale sharply, pushing my hair behind my ear. “I didn’t expect this. When this all started, I had no idea it would turn into this. I get it now, why you kept your identity a secret. In some ways, I wish we could go back in time.”

His face drops.

“Not before I knew you,” I clarify. “I wasn’t prepared for this. All this attention.” I sigh. “It’s a lot.You’rea lot.”

His brows lift slightly, amused. “I’m a lot?”

I shoot him a look. “Alex. Be serious.”

He chuckles, but it’s quiet, almost self-deprecating. “I am serious. You think I don’t know that? That I don’t realize what being with me means, why I tried to shield you from it, even for a short time?”

I stare at him, feeling the weight of his words. Because of course he knows. This is his life. The cameras, the tabloids, the constant scrutiny—it’s not new to him. But it’s new to me.

“I don’t know how to navigate it,” I admit. “How to handle the fact that my name—my work—is now being linked to yours in ways I can’t control.” I look down at my hands, my frustration creeping in. “It’s like we’re puppets on a string, letting PR teams decide what we can and can’t do. Who we can be seen with, where we can go, what we say.”

Alex sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I know. It’s frustrating as hell.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, his gaze locking onto mine. “But, Elena, you’re not in this alone. We’ll figure it out.Together.”

I chew on my lip, my emotions tangled between relief and hesitation. “And if it gets worse? If it starts affecting my career?”

His jaw tightens. “Then we deal with it.”

I scoff. “It’s not that simple.”

“It’s not,” he agrees. “But I’ve done this long enough to know that the only way through it is to decide what we want and stand by it.” His voice dips lower. “So what do you want, Elena?”

I swallow the lump in my throat. Because despite the whirlwind, the overwhelming media storm, the pressure—the answer has always been the same.