The room was silent except for the rustle of fabric as he buttoned his shirt. The scent of sex lingered in the air, a reminder of what you had just done what you had been doing for two years now. No strings, no feelings. Just a CEO and his assistant, indulging in something that was never meant to mean anything.

But lately, everything felt different.

It started the moment she came back.

His ex-fiancée. The only woman he had ever loved. The one who left him broken enough to seek comfort in the arms of someone who asked for nothing in return. That was how your arrangement had started on the ruins of his heartbreak.

And now, it was ending the same way.

You felt it in the way he touched you tonight less fire, more hesitation. In the way he avoided your gaze after, like he was trying to convince himself this was still nothing.

You watched him from the bed, half covered by his sheets, your heart pounding in a way it never should. He stood near the door now, adjusting his cuffs, but he wasn’t leaving. Not yet.

He exhaled, then spoke, his voice quieter than usual.

"Don't fall in love with me."

A warning. A boundary.

You knew he meant well. Knew he wanted to spare you from the inevitable. But the damage was already done.

Your lips parted, the truth slipping out before you could stop it.

"It’s too late."

His hands stilled. His eyes finally met yours.

And for the first time since this started, you saw something that looked a lot like fear.

Because you had no idea. It wasn’t her that unsettled him. Not his ex, not the past. It was you.