Your heart was breaking.

You stood there, frozen, in front of the man you loved—the man you shouldn’t.

Vaughn. The future Pakhan. Dangerous. Untouchable. A storm wrapped in human skin. And yet… there he was, just a few feet away, staring at you like you were the only person in the world that mattered.

You knew this couldn’t end well. Loving him was a fire that would consume you both, and yet, every instinct in your body betrayed your caution.

The rain had started to fall, soft at first, then in heavy sheets, drumming against the pavement like the heartbeat in your chest—fast, uneven, breaking. The weather matched the mood almost perfectly.

“I… I don’t need no money,” you muttered, your voice barely carrying over the storm.

Vaughn stepped closer, shaking water from his hair, but his eyes never left yours. “You’re worth more than diamonds, more than gold,” he said, and his voice held a sincerity that made your chest ache. “More than anything I’ve ever wanted.”

You looked down, unable to meet his gaze. “It doesn’t matter,” you whispered. “You don’t… you can’t—”

“I can,” he interrupted softly, taking a tentative step closer. “I can care about you without it changing who I am. Without it changing us… if you let me.”

The words hung between you like the storm itself—charged, heavy, dangerous.

“I’m… I’m not strong enough,” you confessed, finally meeting his gaze. “Being with you… it’ll destroy me.”

He reached out, fingers brushing against yours, a touch that was electric in the wet darkness. “Maybe,” he said quietly. “Maybe it will. But maybe it’s worth the risk.”