The Unraveling

His words, raw and scorching, had stripped away the carefully constructed layers I'd spent five years building. "I love you, Lia. Always have. Always will. Marry me. Please. Let me spend forever making it right." Each syllable was a hammer blow against the fortress of my resolve, a fortress built of hurt, ambition, and the fierce independence I’d cultivated. I had come to this room intending to offer polite, distant well-wishes, a duty call for Aunt Susan, nothing more. But Brandon, feverish and vulnerable, had shattered my carefully curated composure. His hand, so warm against my cheek, was a brand, igniting forgotten embers within me. My heart, which I’d convinced myself was solely dedicated to my career and Lucas’s steady, comforting presence, lurched with a terrifying familiarity. He leaned in, his gaze a burning intensity that mirrored the fever shimmering on his skin. His breath mingled with mine, a ghost of a touch before the real one. My lips parted slightly, a silent, involunt