Lisa's POV
It started with a shadow.
A black car across from our house.
Parked. Unmoving. For hours.
I told myself it was nothing.
But deep down…
I knew.
That car didn't belong to the neighborhood.
And the way it sat there—dark, heavy, watching—it made my skin crawl.
I pulled the curtain shut. My heart beat loud in my ears.
And then I whispered the truth I had been denying since that night in his penthouse:
"I'm in danger."
Noha's POV
Kareem walked in, face hard. "Boss. They're closing in."
I looked up slowly from my desk. My glass of whiskey remained untouched.
"How close?"
"They know about the girl. They know she was here."
Silence.
"Is it Dante?" I asked.
Kareem nodded once.
Of course. That bastard.
Dante—my oldest rival. The man who once called me brother before he became my greatest enemy. He's been waiting for a weakness in me for years.
And now? He thinks he's found one.
Lisa.
I stood up, rage brewing under my calm expression.
"No one touches her," I said. "Not even God."
Lisa's POV
I kept glancing out the window all night.
No messages from Noha. No calls. No updates.
And even though I wanted to pretend I was okay—I wasn't.
I couldn't eat.
I couldn't sleep.
I couldn't breathe without thinking:
What if I really am being watched?
And worse—
What if I've fallen for the one man who's about to ruin my life?
Noha's POV
I shouldn't be doing this.
But I'm already outside her house.
Engine off. Lights low.
Just watching her window, like some obsessed lunatic. But I need to see her. Just once. Just to know she's safe.
Because in my world, safety isn't promised. And every second counts.
I know I should walk away.
Let her go.
Forget her.
But…
Then her light turned on.
And I saw her silhouette.
She was pacing. Nervous. Scared.
And I couldn't take it anymore.
I stepped out of the car.
I walked straight to her window.
And knocked.
Three times.
Lisa's POV
I jumped.
That knock—
My soul left my body.
I tiptoed toward the curtain, heart in my throat. My hand trembled as I pulled it back.
And there he was.
Noha.
Black hoodie. Jeans. Unshaved. Eyes haunted.
And still the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.
I rushed to the back door and opened it quietly.
"Noha—"
He pulled me into his arms before I could speak.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into my hair. "I should've come sooner."
I didn't speak.
I couldn't.
I just held onto him, like I'd waited my whole life for this moment.
Noha's POV
She was warm.
Too warm for a world like mine.
But I held her anyway.
Because right now? I didn't care.
"I saw a car," she whispered against my chest.
"I know," I said.
"Was it… because of you?"
I paused.
Then nodded once.
She didn't pull away.
She didn't scream or cry.
She just stayed still.
That's what broke me.
Not her fear.
But her trust.
We sat in the corner of her room. Lights off. Just silence and soft breathing between us.
"I don't know what I'm doing," I admitted.
"I don't either," she whispered.
"I don't know how to love someone without destroying them."
"I don't know how to stop loving you," she said.
And just like that—
The truth was out.
It wasn't a confession.
It was a collision.
Of two souls crashing into a fate neither of us could stop now.
Lisa's POV
I leaned into him.
Slow. Scared. Hopeful.
And he kissed me again.
This time, deeper.
Not gentle.
Not soft.
But like a man starved of love, taking his first breath in years.
And I let him.
Because even though I knew this world wasn't safe…
Even though my heart screamed at me to run…
I didn't.
Because the most dangerous thing I could do now was walk away.