Ava reached the sidewalk outside Midtown Coffee first. The cold air helped steady her thoughts, but only slightly. Dominic followed a moment later, stepping out of the café behind her.
They didn’t speak at first. It wasn’t awkward—just heavy, like both of them were still adjusting to the shift between them.
Then a sound broke the silence.
A camera click.
Ava turned sharply.
A man stood across the street, holding his phone pointed directly at her and Dominic. He lowered it the second she noticed him, then walked fast toward the corner.
Dominic reacted immediately.
“I’m going after him.”
Ava grabbed his sleeve. “No.”
“He took your picture.”
“Chasing him makes it worse.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened. “He shouldn’t have been close enough to take anything.”
“This is a public street,” Ava said. “You running after him is exactly the kind of attention we don’t need.”
Dominic didn’t move, but the tension in his shoulders didn’t fade.
Ava exhaled. “Let him go.”
Dominic finally looked at her. His expression wasn’t angry—just controlled in a way that told her he didn’t like losing even a small piece of control over the situation.
But he didn’t chase the man.
Ava started walking. Dominic followed beside her, matching her pace without speaking.
When they reached the end of the block, Ava stopped.
“Whatever that was,” she said, “someone wanted proof we were together.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “And they won’t be the last.”
Ava didn't deny it.
Her phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen and froze.
Unknown sender.
Attached image.
The photo taken seconds ago.
And a message:
“You’re walking into the wrong story.”
Ava felt her stomach tighten.
Dominic saw her expression. “What happened?”
She handed him the phone.
His gaze darkened. “They sent it immediately. They were waiting.”
Ava swallowed. “This is intimidation. Not a threat. They want me to back off.”
“Are you going to?”
“No.”
Dominic didn’t look surprised. Only something else—something sharper.
“Good.”
Ava stared at him. “You’re not going to try to stop me?”
“I’m not here to stop you,” he said. “I’m here to deal with whoever thinks they can use you to control the narrative.”
Ava didn’t respond. Her pulse hadn’t settled since the moment the camera clicked.
Dominic watched her carefully. “You’re bothered.”
“Of course I’m bothered,” she said. “Someone is using my job against me.”
“And someone is watching you,” Dominic said. “Closer than we thought.”
Ava shook her head. “This isn’t about hurting me. This is about making sure I stay away from you and whatever’s happening inside Hale Dynamics.”
Dominic didn’t argue. “That doesn’t make it acceptable.”
Ava looked down at her phone. “I need to get back to the office.”
“I’ll walk you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
He said it so simply that she didn’t argue.
They walked in silence for a block before Ava spoke again.
“That picture… if it spreads, people will assume something.”
Dominic didn’t hesitate. “Let them assume.”
Ava stopped walking.
“Dominic. That affects my job. My credibility. My position. Everything.”
He turned to face her. “And you were photographed because of something tied to my company. That’s not on you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Ava said. “That’s not how the world works.”
Dominic looked at her for a long moment, the edges of his expression shifting—like he was trying to choose between logic and instinct.
He chose instinct.
“If anyone tries to use this against you,” he said quietly, “they deal with me.”
Ava let out a slow breath. “You can’t fix every consequence.”
“I can fix the ones connected to me.”
Ava didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t know whether to be frustrated or moved.
Before she could answer, her phone buzzed again.
Another message.
“Last warning.”
Dominic saw it. “Ava—”
“I know,” she said. “But this only confirms one thing.”
“What?”
She looked up at him.
“I’m closer to the truth than they’re comfortable with.”
Ava spent the walk back to the office replaying the message in her mind. “Last warning.” It wasn’t the words themselves that bothered her. It was the timing. The precision. Whoever sent it knew exactly where she was and exactly who she was with.
And they wanted her to know they knew.
When she reached the building lobby, she forced herself to steady her breathing. Dominic walked beside her, silent but alert. His presence wasn’t comforting or overwhelming—it was both.
At the elevator, she pressed the button.
“You shouldn’t be dealing with this alone,” Dominic said.
“I’m not alone,” Ava replied. “I have my team. I have procedures. I know how to handle intimidation.”
“This isn’t intimidation, Ava. It’s strategy.”
“I know,” she said. “And that’s why I’m not backing off.”
The elevator doors opened. Ava stepped inside. Dominic didn’t follow.
She turned. “Aren’t you coming up?”
“No,” he said. “You need to work. And I need to figure out who’s sending those messages.”
Ava studied him. “You already have an idea.”
Dominic didn’t deny it. “Yes. But I won’t say anything until I have proof.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It isn’t meant to be.” He paused. “Text me if anything changes.”
Ava opened her mouth to argue—then closed it. She didn’t want him hovering. She didn’t want him gone, either.
The doors closed.
Back at her desk, Lena was waiting.
“What happened?” she demanded.
Ava sat slowly. “Nothing.”
“That’s a lie.”
Ava rubbed her forehead. “Someone took pictures of me outside the café.”
“With who?”
Ava hesitated.
Lena’s eyes widened. “It was him, wasn’t it?”
Ava didn’t answer.
Lena dropped into the chair beside her. “Oh my god, Ava. This is a political earthquake. Do you know how fast people will talk if that picture spreads?”
“Yes,” Ava said quietly. “I know.”
“And you’re calm?”
“No,” Ava admitted. “I’m not calm at all.”
Before Lena could continue, another email appeared in Ava’s inbox.
Anonymous sender.
Subject: “You’re too close.”
Ava clicked it open.
Inside was nothing but a sentence:
“Distance is safer.”
Lena leaned in. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Ava didn’t answer immediately. “It means someone wants me to step away from Dominic. Not the story. Him.”
Lena blinked. “Why him specifically?”
“Because,” Ava said, “someone thinks I’ll change direction because of him.”
Lena sat back. “Will you?”
“No.”
Lena exhaled, half relieved, half terrified. “Okay. Then what now?”
Ava stared at the screen, her jaw tightening. “I keep working.”
“And him?” Lena asked.
Ava didn’t answer for a moment.
“He’s… part of this now.”
Across the city, Dominic stood in his office, staring at a monitor displaying internal access logs. Ethan entered quietly.
“I assume you saw the photo,” Ethan said.
“Yes.”
“And the message that followed?”
“Yes.”
Ethan folded his arms. “Sir, if this gets out—”
“It won’t.”
“That isn’t something you can guarantee.”
Dominic didn’t look away from the screen. “Whoever took that photo wanted her to see it. Not the public.”
Ethan frowned. “Meaning?”
“They’re not trying to expose anything. They’re trying to push her away.”
“From you.”
Dominic finally turned. “Yes.”
Ethan studied him. “Is that going to work?”
“No.” Dominic’s voice was steady. “It won’t work.”
Ethan hesitated. “Then what are you planning?”
Dominic looked back at the monitor—at the timestamps, the access errors, the flagged accounts.
“I’m planning to find whoever thinks she’s the weak point.”
“And when you find them?”
Dominic didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll make sure they understand she isn’t.”
Ava stepped out of the office later that afternoon, air tense around her like static. She checked her phone. No new messages. No new photos. No new threats.
But the silence felt intentional.
When she reached the street, she stopped short.
Dominic was standing by a black car, waiting.
She walked toward him slowly. “You didn’t have to come.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because distance isn’t safer,” he said quietly. “Not for you. Not now.”
Ava held his gaze.
“Dominic,” she said softly, “this is exactly the kind of thing people will use against us.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do.”
“I know you do.” His voice softened. “But you’re not facing this alone.”
Ava’s breath caught. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“No,” he said. “You do. And you already did.”
She froze.
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t walk away,” Dominic said. “Not from the story. Not from me.”
Ava didn’t speak.
He stepped closer—still not touching her, but close enough that she felt the shift in the air.
“We move forward,” Dominic said. “Together. Or not at all.”
For a moment, everything was still—the street noise, the cold air, the tension between them.
And Ava realized:
She had already chosen.
She just hadn’t said it out loud.
She met his eyes.
“Together,” she said.
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