Chapter 32

Annie's POV

The house was finally silent, a rare and precious moment of peace after the relentless chaos of the recent merger talks. Howard sat on the edge of the bed, his figure framed by the soft, silvery glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains. He looked exhausted, the invisible weight of his family’s legacy and the pressures of his empire visible in the slight slump of his shoulders.

I walked over quietly and placed my hands on his shoulders. I could feel the tension ripple beneath his skin, the knots of stress that he carried so stoically for everyone else's sake. He reached up, covering my hands with his own. His palms were warm, sending a familiar, grounding spark of connection through me.

"You don't have to carry the world on your own, Howard," I said softly, my voice barely a whisper in the quiet room.

He turned toward me, pulling me down to sit beside him. The gaze he leveled at me was raw, completely stripped of his professional mask. In the dim light, I didn't see the tech giant or the billionaire; I saw the man who had fought for me, the man who loved Lucy with a fierce devotion, and the man who was learning to trust again.

He leaned in, his kiss slow, deliberate, and filled with a profound sense of gratitude. It was a moment of deep intimacy that transcended the physical—a recognition of the scars we both carried and the healing we had found in one another’s presence. There was a powerful attraction between us, yes, but it was anchored in something much deeper than mere desire.

As he held me, I felt a sense of belonging that no contract or title could ever provide. The connection we shared was a constant current, but it was the strength of his character and the quiet beauty of his soul that truly held me captive. Wrapped in each other's arms, we watched the moonlight shift across the floor, knowing that whatever challenges tomorrow brought, we would face them as a single, unbreakable unit.