ZOE DEAN'S POV
For a moment, I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. I think I couldn't even breathe.
My heart was a drum, pounding too loud in my chest as I stared at him—at the dark, steady eyes that never wavered. He wasn't joking. He wasn't saying it out of obligation. Nero meant every word. He loves me.
But… did I love him too?
The question crashed through my head, loud and heavy. My throat tightened. I wanted to answer, but the words tangled somewhere between my heart and lips.
"I—Nero… I…"
He didn't look away. Instead, he leaned closer, his thumb brushing the side of my face, tracing the curve of my jaw so gently it made my breath hitch.
"I understand," he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. "You don't have to say it back. I just needed you to know."
Something inside me ached at the raw honesty in his tone. I could feel his heartbeat—steady, strong, but trembling just beneath the surface. It must've taken everything in him to say those words out loud.
And yet, as I looked at him, reality started creeping back in.
He was Nero—the man everyone feared, the one who ruled his world with iron and silence. The man who had blood on his hands. And me? I was just… me. A bar attendant who got pulled into his storm and hadn't been able to escape since.
There was no world where this made sense. Loving him wasn't safe. It wasn't smart. It wasn't supposed to happen.
But even with all that, I couldn't deny what I felt when I was with him. Around Nero, I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time—peace. He could be terrifying, ruthless, cold to the rest of the world, but beneath that… was a man who loved deeply, who carried pain the way others carried scars.
And maybe that was why I felt this way. Because I'd seen that side of him—the side no one else got to see.
My chest tightened. My lips trembled as I whispered, "I… love you too."
For a moment, his expression froze. His eyes widened slightly, as if he wasn't sure he'd heard me right.
"What… did you say?" he murmured, his voice shaking just enough to make my heart twist. His breath brushed against my lips, warm and unsteady.
I smiled softly, looking right at him. "I love you, Nero."
The air between us seemed to shift.
He exhaled sharply, like he'd been holding that breath for a lifetime, and then he kissed me—this time without hesitation, without restraint.
The kiss burned. Not wild, but deep, deliberate. It was all the feelings we hadn't admitted, all the fears we'd been too afraid to name. I could feel his heartbeat pounding against mine, his hand cupping my face as if he was afraid I'd disappear if he let go.
When he finally broke away, his gaze lingered on me, soft and intense all at once. His thumb traced my lower lip before he whispered, "I promise to cherish and protect you, Zoe. I want to keep you like this forever."
The words made something flutter deep in my chest. I smiled, cheeks warm, completely lost in the sincerity of his voice. It felt surreal—just yesterday, we'd been running for our lives in Dubai, escaping an ambush. And now, here we were in Thailand, confessing love like the world wasn't falling apart around us.
How could something so wrong feel this perfect?
A sharp knock at the door shattered the moment.
Nero's head turned toward the sound, his arm shifting slightly to brace himself above me. I bit my lip to hide a nervous laugh—he looked so irritated, and somehow, that made the heat in my cheeks worse.
"Yes?" he said, his tone clipped, impatient.
"Nero, it's me. We have to go," came Benny's voice from the other side of the door.
The change in Nero was immediate. The warmth in his eyes cooled in an instant, replaced by that familiar hardness I hated—the look of a man who'd just been pulled back into his world.
My smile faded. Go? Again?
He let out a slow breath, straightening a little. "I'll be down in a minute."
Benny's footsteps faded down the hall, leaving silence in their wake and Nero collasped on his side on the bed.
"What is it?" I asked quietly, sitting up. My voice trembled just a little. I already knew I wouldn't like the answer.
He turned toward me, his gaze softening just a fraction before he said, "I have to take care of Ben's men."
My stomach twisted. The Dark Lions. The same people who'd attacked the villa in Dubai.
"What will you do to them?" I asked, even though I already knew. My voice came out smaller than I meant it to.
His jaw tightened, his eyes darkened. "Finish what they started."
The coldness in his tone sent a shiver down my spine.
He stood from the bed and crossed the room, grabbing his jacket from the closet. Before leaving, he paused by the bed and leaned down, brushing a soft kiss against my forehead. His hand lingered in my hair, gentle, almost heartbreakingly gentle.
"I'll be back, okay?"
I nodded slowly, forcing a small smile even though everything inside me screamed that I didn't want him to go. Not again. Not into that world.
And then he was gone.
The door shut softly behind him, and the silence that followed felt heavier than before.
I stared at the empty space where he'd stood, my pulse still racing. The warmth of his kiss still lingered on my lips and skin, but beneath it was something colder. A quiet fear that coiled tight in my chest.
I pressed my hand to my heart, trying to steady my breathing.
Because love, I was starting to realize, wasn't the hardest part.
It was what came after.