But I don't walk away.
I knock, the sound loud in the quiet hallway.
Silence. Then footsteps, soft and hesitant. The door opens, and Aurora's standing there in pajamas, her eyes red and swollen from crying. Her face is blotchy, her hair a mess, and she's never looked more beautiful to me.
We stare at each other for a long moment, neither knowing what to say.
"I can't do this anymore," I say finally, the words rough.
"Do what?"
"Fight with you. Walk away angry. Pretend I'm not terrified every single second that something's going to happen to you."
"Axel..."
"Can I come in?"
She steps aside without answering. I enter, and she closes the door behind me with a soft click that sounds too loud.
The room's a mess. Tissues scattered across the bed like fallen snow. Her laptop open on the desk to what looks like financial reports, the same ones she was working on earlier. She's been working while crying, trying to distract herself from everything that happened.
Just like me. I've been reviewing security protocols for two hours, making lists of changes, planning new defenses. Anything to avoid thinking about how close I came to losing her.
"I'm sorry," she says, her voice small. "For sneaking out. For putting myself in danger. For being so reckless and stupid and..."
"I'm sorry too." The words feel foreign in my mouth, unfamiliar. I don't apologize often. Can't remember the last time I did. "For yelling at you. For trying to control everything. For making you feel trapped in this house."
We're standing in the middle of the room, not touching, the air between us heavy with everything we haven't said. With everything we're too afraid to say.
"I was so scared tonight," she whispers, wrapping her arms around herself. "When those men grabbed me. When that guy said you would watch me die. I thought... I thought that was it. That I was going to die and never see you again, never get to tell you..."
She stops, doesn't finish.
"I know. I felt it." I step closer, drawn to her like gravity. "The second Viktor told me you'd left the estate, I felt it in my gut. Something wrong. I drove like a maniac to that club. Broke every traffic law. Ran red lights. Because I knew something was wrong. Knew you were in danger."
"How did you even know where I was?"
"Security cameras caught you leaving with your friends. We tracked Chloe's driver's GPS." I run a hand through my hair, still restless with residual fear and adrenaline. "Aurora, you can't do things like that. Can't just disappear without telling me. Not in this world."
"I know. I know that now." She's still hugging herself, looking small and vulnerable. "But I can't live in a cage either, Axel. Even a golden one with beautiful furniture and gourmet food. I'll go insane."
"I don't want to cage you."
"Then what do you want?"
"I want you safe. I want our baby safe. I want to not wake up every morning terrified that today's the day I lose you." My voice breaks on the last word, emotion I usually keep buried forcing its way out.
She looks up at me, and there are fresh tears in her eyes, tracking down her already tear-stained face. "I'm terrified too. Of being trapped. Of losing myself. Of becoming someone I don't recognize just to survive in your world. Of turning into someone who's afraid of everything."
"Then we figure it out together." I close the remaining distance between us, cup her face in my hands. Her skin is soft, warm, real. "No more me making unilateral decisions. No more you sneaking around behind my back. We talk. We compromise. We find a middle ground that keeps you safe without making you feel like a prisoner."
"You think we can do that?"
"I don't know. But I'm willing to try if you are."
She searches my face for something, her dark eyes moving over my features like she's memorizing them. Whatever she finds there makes her nod slowly.
"Okay. We try."
