Alex stirred at the sound of faint movement and the scent of something warm—familiar. As her lashes fluttered open, sunlight filtered through the curtains in gentle stripes across the bed. She blinked twice, slowly adjusting to the room, and then her breath caught.
Zade was standing at the foot of the bed.
Hair tousled, expression soft, and shirtless except for one of her oversized white button-ups that barely reached his thighs. He looked entirely at ease, like he belonged there. Like he’d always belonged there.
Before she could say a word, he leaned forward and kissed her.
Soft. Unhurried. A silent declaration.
By the time her lips parted in response, he’d already pulled away, smirking slightly as he turned toward the kitchen. Alex stared after him, stunned by the intimacy of the moment—how natural it felt, how dangerous it was.
They ate together in silence at first. Zade served her toast and eggs like it was the most mundane thing in the world. But as the quiet stretched, she raised an eyebrow, waiting. He didn’t keep her waiting long.
“I told him everything,” he said finally.
Alex’s fork paused midway to her mouth. “You told who what?”
“Your father,” Zade answered calmly, pouring himself another glass of orange juice. “About the contract Andrea forced you to sign. That I destroyed it. That I love you. That I want to be with you—not for power. Just for you.”
She set her fork down. “Zade.”
“I had to,” he continued. “I needed him to hear it. From me. No strategy, no manipulation.”
Alex’s mouth pressed into a tight line. “Do you realize what you’ve done? You went to Luca Steel—furious, grieving Luca—and handed him everything. You exposed yourself, and by extension, me. What if he—?”
“I don’t want to lie anymore, Alex,” Zade interrupted gently. “Not to him. Not to you. Not to myself.”
She sighed, looking down at her half-eaten plate. “You reckless idiot.”
Zade chuckled under his breath. “That’s fair.”
She didn’t argue further. She couldn’t. Not when his eyes were that honest, not when his voice didn’t hold a single trace of calculation. He meant every word. And she knew it.
***
Over the following month, Alex threw herself back into work.
Steel Enterprises demanded everything from her—meetings, board decisions, stabilizing post-scandal shifts. She kept the company running, kept her people calm, and somehow, kept her heart tethered to a man she couldn’t fully claim in public.
Zade, meanwhile, was relentless.
He showed up. For her. For the company. For Luca.
He stepped in quietly when problems arose. He helped with risk assessments, offered his expertise discreetly, and even mediated during a particularly volatile supplier negotiation. But never once did he demand credit. Never once did he use it to leverage his place back into her life.
He just... tried.
At night, he sent her soft messages. Mornings, he delivered coffee to her office with a sticky note doodle of a broken contract and a heart. On weekends, he stood outside her building with groceries and a grin, never expecting entry, just showing he remembered.
And still—Luca denied him.
Every meeting, every quiet offering, every clear sign that Zade Hale was no longer the son of Simon but a man standing on his own—Luca met it with silence. Disapproval. Occasionally a dismissive shake of the head.
It was exhausting.
And then came the night Alex couldn’t take the wall between them anymore.
The house felt cavernous without Nova’s voice echoing through the rooms. The air was still, too still. Luca sat on the couch, reviewing documents by the soft glow of a side lamp. His shoulders were hunched, wearier than she’d ever seen them. And yet, when she entered the room, he straightened like steel returning to its frame.
“Dad,” she said softly, sitting beside him.
He didn’t look at her, just flipped another page.
“I need to talk to you.”
Still no response. So she reached for his hand.
His fingers didn’t recoil, but they didn’t curl around hers either.
“I love him,” she said. “Not because he’s changed. But because I’ve seen who he really is, beneath all of it.”
“Alexandra—”
“He didn’t manipulate me,” she cut in gently. “He didn’t trap me. He let me go. Over and over again. And I came back every time. On my own.”
Luca’s jaw worked slightly, but he said nothing.
“He’s not his father,” she whispered. “And I’m not a girl who needs protecting from the world anymore. I’m your daughter. But I’m also a woman. And I choose him.”
The silence between them was thick with unspoken memories: Nova’s laugh, the weight of grief, the burden of raising a daughter alone.
Then, slowly, Luca set the document aside.
He turned toward her, eyes glassy, the armor of a father trembling under the force of a daughter’s plea.
“I don’t like him,” he admitted.
“I know,” Alex replied with a small smile.
“But,” Luca sighed, rubbing a hand across his face, “I see it now. What he’s done. What he’s risked.”
Alex waited, heart in her throat.
“And if he hurts you,” Luca added, looking her dead in the eye, “he’ll be lucky to survive the fallout.”
Alex threw her arms around him, and for the first time in months, the air in the house felt warm again.
Zade had finally earned his place.
And Alex had finally been allowed to love him out loud.