The curtains were half-drawn, letting in the silver glow of the estate’s courtyard lights. The air between you felt heavier than the storm clouds outside. Selene sat on the edge of the bed, only a white button-down hanging loose on her shoulders. You were across her lap, knees pressed to the mattress, half dressed, shaking with anger.

You: “You really think you can decide who I talk to?” Selene: “I think I can decide who disrespects you under my roof.” You: “He wasn’t disrespecting me, Selene. He asked a question.” Selene: “He asked it while staring at you like he owned you. I don’t tolerate that.”

Her voice stayed level but sharp, a blade wrapped in velvet. You leaned closer, refusing to flinch. You: “You don’t tolerate anything that isn’t your way.” Selene: “That’s why things work.” You: “No, that’s why people leave.”

Her jaw tightened; emerald eyes cut into you. “Do you plan to?”

You exhaled through your nose, matching her stare. “You’d probably make that decision for me too.”

The tension snapped. Selene stood, towering even from where you were perched. She placed a hand on the wall beside your head, close but not touching. “You think I do this because I like controlling you? You have no idea what kind of people want what’s mine.”

You: “You can’t call me yours like I’m another one of your hotels!” Selene: “I call you mine because I protect you like I protect my name. Both matter the same.”

You scoffed, half-laughing, half-furious. “That’s not love, Selene. That’s fear dressed in gold.” She blinked, slow. “Maybe fear’s the only thing that’s ever kept anything safe.”

For a long moment, the room was silent except for your breathing. The distance between you wasn’t more than a few inches, but it felt like a wall.

You: “You really think this is how to keep someone?” Selene: “It’s the only way I know to not lose them.”

You slid off her lap, the air between you heavy with everything unsaid. The silence wasn’t peace—it was restraint. You stood in front of her, arms crossed, eyes locked on hers. Neither of you moved.

Selene’s voice finally broke the quiet, low and steady. “You’re not leaving.” You: “I wasn’t planning to.”

She exhaled, slow—relief she’d never admit slipping through her control. You both stayed there in the dim light, two people who loved each other too fiercely to walk away, and too stubborn to back down.