Maddox had never felt more torn in his life. Every decision weighed on him like a boulder, and the walls around him seemed to be closing in, tighter and tighter with every passing minute. As he stood in the cold, sterile conference room where he had just agreed to form an alliance with Elara, the taste of betrayal lingered on his tongue. It was bitter and sharp, but he couldn't afford to let it stop him.
Elara was the key, he realized. Whether he liked it or not, the path he was now on would be carved with her help his only lifeline in a world that seemed to be crumbling at the seams. She had shown him what he couldn't see before: the strings pulling at every part of his empire, at his family, at his very soul. It was all connected, all tied together by hands more powerful than his own.
But that wasn't what kept him awake at night.
It was Cambria.
The more Maddox thought about her, the more desperate he became. Cambria hadn't just walked out of his life; she had disappeared. And he couldn't let that happen again. Not when the weight of everything he had worked for depended on him getting back on track. He had to fix it. He had to fix them.
Yet, as the days passed, the guilt gnawed at him. He had already caused her so much pain. The truth that she had revealed about his betrayal, the part of him that had hurt her to save his family's reputation, would haunt him for the rest of his life. He had never truly realized how much she had sacrificed, how much he had taken from her. But what was worse than the reality of his actions was the realization that he may never be able to make things right.
It was late into the evening when Maddox found himself once again at his penthouse, unable to sleep. The city's light shone through the massive windows, and yet he felt more alone than he ever had. He reached for the glass of whiskey on the counter, the familiar burn almost comforting as it slid down his throat. But nothing could numb the ache inside.
He hadn't expected her.
The knock on his door was soft, but it hit his chest like a drum. His heartbeat quickened. He knew who it was before the words even registered. His mind scrambled, trying to find a way to explain everything to her. He didn't know how to make things right, but he had to try.
"Come in," he called, his voice hoarse.
The door opened slowly, and there she was Cambria.
She stepped inside, her gaze sweeping the room as if taking in every detail. Her presence in the room was like a sudden storm, unpredictable and powerful. For a moment, Maddox couldn't breathe. She looked just as stunning as he remembered, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, her eyes unreadable as they locked onto his.
"What are you doing here?" Maddox asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"I need to talk to you," Cambria said, her voice as calm as ever, but there was something beneath the surface something fierce that Maddox couldn't quite place.
"About what?" His heart pounded in his chest, the air thick with tension.
Cambria moved toward him, stopping just a few feet away. Her gaze didn't leave him, and for a moment, it felt like the world outside the room disappeared entirely. The only thing that existed was her the woman he had once loved. The woman he had ruined.
"I'm not here to rehash the past, Maddox," she said, her words firm, controlled. "But I can't keep pretending that everything's fine. You and I both know it isn't."
Maddox opened his mouth to speak, but she held up her hand, stopping him.
"No," she continued, her voice sharper now. "You don't get to apologize again, not after everything. You don't get to pull me back in and expect me to fix you. This is what we had. It's over. It ended the moment you chose your empire over me."
The truth in her words stung, cutting deeper than any wound he'd ever felt. He wanted to tell her how much he regretted it all, how much he'd been fighting to fix what he had broken, but the words caught in his throat.
"Cambria, I " He began, but she silenced him with a look.
"You never really saw me, Maddox," she said quietly, her gaze softening for just a moment. "Not the way I needed you to. You saw me as a part of your life that needed to be fixed, a problem to be solved. But it wasn't a problem. I was your partner, and I was willing to fight for us." She took a deep breath, the air between them thick with unsaid emotions. "But now, I'm done fighting."
Maddox felt his chest tighten. She was slipping away from him again, and this time, he didn't know if he could stop it. His heart raced as the words he had been rehearsing for days came flooding back to him.
"I can't change what I did," he said, his voice trembling with raw emotion. "But I need you to understand, Cambria... I never stopped loving you."
The words hung in the air, heavier than anything he had ever said before. He had waited so long to speak to them, and now that they were out, they felt empty because he knew that saying it didn't fix anything. It didn't erase the pain, the broken trust.
Cambria looked at him for a long, agonizing moment, her expression unreadable. Then, without a word, she moved toward him. Maddox's breath caught in his chest as she came closer until she was standing right in front of him. He could feel the heat of her body, could smell the faint scent of her perfume. His heart thudded in his ears, the air between them thick with unsaid things.
For a moment, Maddox thought she might walk away again, leaving him in the silence of his own regret. But then, without warning, Cambria's lips met his. The kiss was nothing like he expected. It wasn't tender or forgiving it was fiery, desperate, as if she, too, had been holding back all this time. The kiss burned with the weight of everything they had lost, everything they had been through.
Maddox's hands found her waist, pulling her closer as if he could somehow erase the distance that had built between them over the years. He kissed her with everything he had, pouring all of his regret, his need, his love into that one moment. But even as the kiss deepened, even as his body responded to hers, he knew this wasn't the end. This wasn't the resolution he had been hoping for.
Cambria pulled away first, her breath shallow, her eyes flashing with a mix of longing and defiance.
"We can't do this, Maddox," she whispered, her voice shaking as she stepped back. "You can't keep doing this to me. You can't fix it with a kiss. It's too late for that."
Maddox stood there, unable to move, the taste of her lips still on his. He wanted to say something anything to make it right. But all that came out was a shaky breath.
Cambria's eyes softened, and for the briefest moment, he thought he saw something regretful, maybe, or perhaps a flicker of the woman he had once known. But then it was gone.
She turned to leave, but not before she said, "Goodbye, Maddox."
And just like that, she was gone again.
The silence that followed her departure was deafening. Maddox sank into the nearest chair, his hands shaking. The kiss had shattered something inside him a hope, maybe, that he could still win her back. But it also solidified something else: Cambria was done.
And now, Maddox was left with nothing but the consequences of his own choices.