Chapter 20
I stared at the cursor blinking in my email draft like it was mocking my entire existence.
Every word to Adelyn needed to be perfect—professional, distant, giving away absolutely nothing while maintaining the facade that I wasn’t slowly losing my goddamn mind.
Adelyn,
Please find attached the updated press conference schedule as requested. All media contacts have been confirmed and catering arrangements finalized.
Best regards, Jasmine Harlow
I read it twice, hunting for any hint of emotion or vulnerability that might betray me. The tone was neutral enough to put people to sleep, minimal enough to avoid analysis, exactly what it needed to be.
I hit send before I could overthink myself into paralysis.
By seven PM, the office had begun its familiar death ritual. Conversations died in hallways like deflating balloons. Desk lights clicked off one by one.
The constant hum of corporate chaos slowly faded into blessed silence.
I stayed glued to my desk, pretending to work on scheduling emails while actually waiting for the building to become a ghost town.
I needed the quiet, the assurance that no one was watching, no one was documenting my movements or timing my departure like some kind of workplace stalker.
Adelyn had left an hour ago, her sharp gaze doing one final sweep of the office before she disappeared into the elevator like a corporate vampire returning to her lair. But I’d learned not to trust appearances where she was concerned.
That woman could probably spy on people through security cameras and office plants.
At eight o’clock, I finally gathered my shit and made my escape to the lobby. The security guard nodded as I passed, and then I was pushing through glass doors into cool night air that felt like freedom.
The tension I’d carried all day began loosening its death grip on my shoulders as I stepped onto the sidewalk.
A familiar black sedan waited at the curb, engine purring quietly. Through tinted windows, I could make out three silhouettes in the back seat.
My pulse quickened, but not with the anxiety that had been eating me alive all day. This was different—anticipation mixed with relief, like coming home after being lost in the wilderness.
I slid into the back seat where Liam, Asher, and Finn were already waiting. The atmosphere was calm, but I could feel their attention on me in the dim light like warm spotlights.
“Long day?” Liam asked gently, his voice cutting through the quiet hum of the engine.
“You could say that.” I leaned back against leather that probably cost more than my monthly rent, watching city lights blur past the window like neon tears.
“You didn’t answer my text,” Finn said, his usual playful tone subdued. “That’s not like you.”
I glanced at him, seeing genuine concern in his expression instead of his trademark smirk. “I needed space to think.”
“About us?” Asher’s question was as direct as a bullet.
“About everything.” I turned to meet his steel-gray gaze. “About what this means, what people might see, what could happen if…”
“If Adelyn keeps digging,” Liam finished quietly.
I nodded, surprised he understood so clearly. “You noticed.”
“We notice everything about you,” Asher said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
When we arrived at the villa, something shifted.
As I reached for the door handle, I found all three of them moving simultaneously, stepping out of the car and coming around to my side like some kind of coordinated gentleman operation.
They stood there in the soft glow of streetlights, hands extended toward me like an offering.
Without hesitation, I reached out and took all three hands at once. Liam’s fingers intertwined with mine on the left—strong and steady like an anchor.
Asher’s grip was firm on the right, his thumb stroking across my knuckles. Finn’s hand found mine in the center, warm and reassuring.
The gesture felt symbolic as fuck—three connections forming one, a moment of trust and unity that grounded me more than anything had in weeks.
Standing there in the quiet street, connected to all of them simultaneously, I felt some essential part of myself click back into place like a puzzle piece finding its home.
Inside the villa, soft music played from hidden speakers, and warm light spilled from table lamps.
The contrast to the fluorescent corporate hellscape was immediate and comforting.
“Better?” Finn asked, watching as my shoulders visibly relaxed from their position somewhere around my earlobes.
“Much.” I took a deep breath, feeling some of the day’s tension leave my body like toxic smoke. “I forgot what it felt like to not be under surveillance.”
“You were protecting yourself,” Liam said, loosening his tie. “We understand that.”
“Do you?” I turned to face all three of them. “Because I felt like I was going insane today. Hiding from you, avoiding calls, pretending I didn’t want to be near you when all I could think about was…”
“Was what?” Asher prompted when I trailed off.
“This. Being here. Being able to breathe again without feeling like I’m suffocating on my own secrets.”
Finn stepped closer, his expression soft. “Then why didn’t you just talk to us? We would have figured something out.”
“Because talking to you makes me forget to be careful,” I admitted. “And I can’t afford to forget. Not with Adelyn watching every move I make like I’m exhibit A in her personal investigation.”
“What did she do today?” Liam’s voice carried a protective edge that made my chest tight.
“Nothing concrete. Everything is subtle. But I overheard her on a phone call, mentioning my name.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “She’s building a case against me, I can feel it in my bones.”
“Against us, you mean,” Asher corrected. “If she goes after you, she goes after all of us.”
The simple statement of unity made my throat tighten with emotions I wasn’t ready to name.
“You don’t understand what you’re risking,” I said.
“Yes, we do,” Liam said firmly. “And we’re choosing to risk it anyway.”
As we walked deeper into the villa, I finally found the courage to voice what had been eating at me all day like acid. “I wasn’t avoiding you,” I said quietly.
Liam glanced back at me. “We know.”
“I’m just tired,” I added. “Tired of pretending, tired of watching every word, every look, every fucking breath.”
Asher gave me a slow nod. “You’ve been carrying a lot.”
“Too much,” Finn agreed, bumping his arm gently against mine. “That’s why we’re here. So you don’t have to carry it alone like some kind of emotional pack mule.”
“But what if someone finds out?” The fear that had been plaguing me spilled out like poison. “What if Adelyn has photos, or witnesses, or—”
“Then we deal with it,” Liam said simply. “Together.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Not easy,” Asher corrected. “But simple. We’re not going anywhere, Jasmine. No matter what she throws at us.”
For the first time all day, I felt like I could breathe properly instead of taking shallow sips of air like I was drowning.
“Promise me something,” I said.
“Anything,” Finn said immediately.
“If this gets too dangerous, if it threatens your careers or the label, you’ll let me walk away.”
“No,” all three of them said in unison, the firmness of their response startling me like a slap.
“Jasmine,” Liam continued, stopping to face me fully, “you’re not walking away from us. Not because of Adelyn, not because of fear, not for any reason. We’re past that now.”
Looking at their faces—determined and protective and absolutely fucking serious—I realized they meant it. Every word.
For the first time in a long while, I stopped fighting against what I wanted and let myself believe that maybe, just maybe, I didn’t have to face this alone.
This is where I belong.
