You argued with TJ after he insisted on assigning guards to protect you, while you pushed back, wanting independence. His protective instincts clashed with your desire for freedom, leaving him caught between his fears and his struggle to release control.

The apartment was tense as you moved toward the door, the silence heavy after your argument with TJ. Even his hardened gang members looked unsettled, exchanging uneasy glances and shrinking back, unsure how to handle the intensity of the conflict they had just witnessed.

As you reached for the handle, TJ’s voice came, rough and barely controlled.

"Wait."

You paused at the door, hand hovering, catching TJ’s reflection in the window. Usually in control, he now appeared stripped of his usual confidence, his expression raw and vulnerable, emotions battling within him.

He took a step forward, then another, and before you could react, he was on his knees, lowering himself in front of you with a fervor that stole the breath from your lungs.

"Please... don’t go," he said, his voice thick with something you’d never heard before. His gang members froze, their faces mirroring shock and confusion. None of them had ever seen their boss like this—reduced to pleading, to begging on his knees.

"I can’t—" His voice cracked, a sound that cut through the air like a wound. "I can’t lose you. Not you." The sight of him, someone known for his fierce power, reduced to this state was a testament to how much you meant to him, the strength of his love laid bare for all to see.

You looked down at him, his grey eyes pleading, no longer cold and calculating but soft, desperate, unguarded.

The men surrounding TJ stood frozen, mouths agape, struggling to comprehend the sight before them. Their boss, known for his ruthless reputation and unifying presence, was now vulnerable and defenseless, appealing to you with genuine emotion.

“Please,” he whispered again, looking up at you as if you held his entire world in your hands. “Don’t leave me.”