The Mafia Boss Thought His Secretary Betrayed Him — Until He Found Her Scrubbing Diner Floors To Pay A Debt His Empire Created

PART 12

When the doors closed, silence descended over the damaged office. Weston knelt before Wren’s chair. “I told you I would build a fortress.”

“You did.”

“He still got inside.”

“And I locked him in.”

“When Owen said the office was breached, I could not breathe.”

“Why?”

“Because losing you would be the first loss I could not turn into anger and survive.”

They sat on the leather sofa near the windows. Rain tapped softly against the glass.

“Why did you really come to the diner?” Wren asked.

“For three years, I walked into that office and you were there. You made the place feel stable. When you did not answer, I imagined every possible betrayal. Then I realized I preferred betrayal to the thought that someone had hurt you.”

“What happens now? With us.”

“You are a weakness because your pain can influence me. You are also a strength because you see failures no one else sees. There is no clean version of this.”

“So what do we do?”

“We tell the truth where it matters. That you are not property. You will have authority of your own, independent of whatever exists between us.”

Weston leaned closer, leaving enough distance for refusal.

Wren closed it.