Chapter 4- The Man Who Appears When the World Falls Apart

As she walked through the doors of the Reed Building, the night wind hit her face with almost cruel force, as if the city wanted to remind her that she no longer belonged anywhere.

No family.

No company.

No commitments.

No "destiny" written by others.

As she inhaled the cold air, a black car pulled up in front of her.

It wasn't just any car; it was one of those quiet, expensive vehicles designed to be impossible to ignore.

The window rolled down smoothly.

And there he was:

Sebastian Cole.

His face emerged from the shadows, his dark eyes reflecting the neon lights of Crown City.

"Miss Reed," he greeted her in a low, deep, dangerously calm voice. "Need a ride?"

Camila held her breath.

Sebastian Cole didn't offer favors.

He never did anything without a specific purpose.

"Sebastian Cole offering a ride?" Camila replied ironically. "That wasn't on my list of predictions."

He raised an eyebrow, almost amused, and opened the door from the inside.

A simple gesture.

Dominant.

No discussion.

"It's not me offering anything," he corrected.

"It's you who just lost a last name and gained freedom."

Camila got in without hesitating for a second.

She was direct.

"Do you want to negotiate?"

"Always," he replied without looking away.

Camila rested her elbow on the seat, defiant.

"Then say it. What's your offer?"

Sebastian leaned back elegantly, his eyes fixed on hers as if he could read her scars.

"An alliance," he said. "Mutual. Convenient, but not like Blake's.”

She raised an eyebrow.

"Business?"

"Not exactly."

He took a document out of his briefcase and handed it to her.

Camila opened it.

She read it.

Her heart skipped a beat so loudly that she thought it could be heard in the silence of the car.

"Contractual marriage proposal."

She looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you crazy?" she asked, though she didn't let go of the paper.

Sebastian smiled slightly. A slight, dangerous curve.

"Camila... I'm not looking for a woman who kneels.

I'm looking for one who walks beside me without asking permission."

"Why me?" Camila finally asked.

Sebastian replied without hesitation.

"Because you're not afraid of losing everything.

And because you would never be just decoration.”

"I need to think about it," she whispered.

Sebastian nodded respectfully.

"Take your time.

I'll wait."

She believed him.

The next morning, Camila went out for some fresh air.

She had barely taken half a step when she heard a voice behind her.

"Camila, please."

It was Adrian Blake.

He looked tired and defeated, almost human.

Something he had never been with her before.

"Camila, let's talk," he said, approaching cautiously.

She didn't move.

"There's nothing to talk about."

Adrian swallowed hard, feeling desperate.

"What you heard that night... I was under pressure and confused. Dani—"

"Dani what?" Camila interrupted him. "Did Dani cry?" Did she tremble? Did he tell you what you wanted to hear?"

Adrian closed his eyes, feeling guilty.

Camila took a deep breath, but her voice was cold when she spoke.

“Adrian, if a man can be convinced that his girlfriend ‘is too much’ just because she cried a little, then he never deserved her.”

"I did love you, Camila! I really did!" he insisted, approaching her.

She looked at him as if she were looking at a book she had already finished and had no intention of reading again.

"That's the problem, Adrian.

You loved me, but you never respected me.

He reached out his hand, almost begging.

"Give me a chance to prove myself."

Camila took a step back.

“No, I don't want a man who chooses me by default.

I don't want a man who only loves me after he's lost me.

I'm not going back to a place where I wasn't good enough."

Camila kept walking.

Free.

Finally free.

Although she didn't know it yet,

Freedom was only the first step.

The next step was the man who had been watching her from the shadows: Sebastian Cole.

Sebastian Cole.

At three in the morning, when the city seemed to be holding its breath, her cell phone vibrated.

Message from Sebastian:

"When you're ready to choose your life, I'll be ready too."

Camila pressed her lips together.

Camila wrote just four words:

"I'll stop by your office tomorrow." We need to talk."