Chapter 197: A Love Undefined

Nat stirred awake, the dim glow of the warehouse flickering against the walls. The cot beneath her was stiff, unfamiliar, and the chill in the air told her it was still deep into the night. She turned, expecting to find Ginger beside her, but the bed was empty.

Her chest tightened, an invisible force pulling her out of the room. Barefoot, she padded through the corridors of the safe house, following an instinct she didn’t bother questioning. She found him where she knew she would—alone, hunched over a table littered with maps, his fingers tracing unseen lines across the pages.

Roman.

He didn’t look up at first. He had always been good at pretending not to notice her, even when she was the only thing he saw.

“You should be sleeping,” he murmured, his voice rough from exhaustion.

Nat leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “So should you.”

A humorless smirk tugged at his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He finally met her gaze, and the weight of everything unspoken filled the space between them. There were a thousand things she could say—things she had wanted to say since the moment he walked away. But in the end, she only asked the one that mattered most.

“Why are you really doing this?”

Roman exhaled, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Because I can’t let him win. Not after everything. Not when I know what’s at stake.”

She stepped closer, her heart pounding. “And what is at stake, Roman?”

He hesitated, but only for a moment. “You. Grace. Alejandro.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “Everything I love.”

Her breath hitched, and before she could stop herself, she reached for him. He caught her wrist midair, his grip firm but not unkind. The way he looked at her made her feel like he was memorizing her, like he had already convinced himself this would be the last time he held her.

“I never wanted to walk away,” he admitted. “But I thought I had to. I thought if I left, you could be safe, you could be happy.” He let out a bitter laugh. “But the truth is, I was just a coward. I couldn’t face the fact that I needed you more than you ever needed me.”

Tears burned behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Instead, she cupped his face, forcing him to look at her, to see her. “You were never a coward,” she whispered. “You were trying to protect me the only way you knew how. But, Roman, you don’t have to do this alone. You never had to.”

His resolve cracked, just enough for him to pull her into his arms, burying his face into her hair. The warmth of his body, the scent of him—it was everything she had missed, everything she had tried to forget. And when he kissed her, it wasn’t hesitant, wasn’t careful. It was raw, desperate, the kind of kiss that tore through her and rebuilt her in the same breath.

She melted into him, her fingers tangling in his hair, her heart hammering against his. There was no denying it—she loved him. She always had.

But she loved someone else too.

A sharp intake of breath broke them apart.

Nat turned just in time to see Ginger standing in the doorway, his face unreadable, his hands clenched at his sides. The moment stretched impossibly long, suffocating in its weight.

“So, that’s it then?” Ginger’s voice was steady, but the pain behind it was unmistakable. “You’ve made your choice.”

Nat’s chest tightened. “No.”

Ginger’s eyes flickered between them, his walls rising. “Nat—”

“No,” she repeated, stepping toward him. “That’s just it. I can’t choose. I won’t.”

Roman’s gaze sharpened, but he said nothing. Ginger’s jaw ticked, his frustration evident, but he didn’t turn away.

She took a deep breath. “I love you, Ginger. And I love you, Roman. It’s not a matter of choosing one or the other—I need you both. You’re both a part of me. I can’t pretend that losing one of you wouldn’t destroy me.”

Silence followed, thick and heavy, until finally, in a moment of unexpected clarity, Ginger ran a hand down his face and exhaled a slow, almost disbelieving laugh.

“Well,” he muttered. “That’s one hell of a confession.”

Nat’s heart pounded. “I know it’s not conventional. I know it’s not easy, and I don’t expect either of you to be okay with it. But I had to be honest. I can’t lie to you both. I love you. Both of you.”

Ginger studied her, then turned to Roman, something unspoken passing between them. A silent understanding. A mutual realization.

Then, in a moment of growth that neither of them could have expected, Ginger sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Then maybe you don’t have to choose."

Nat’s breath hitched. "What?"

Ginger glanced between them, a wry smirk forming. "It’s not exactly the life I imagined, but hell, nothing about this has been normal. We’ve been fighting over her like there was only ever going to be one outcome, but what if that’s not true? What if we figure this out together?"

Roman arched a brow. "Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?"

Ginger let out a humorless chuckle. "I’m saying I love her enough not to make her break herself trying to pick between us."

Nat’s hands trembled as she covered her mouth, emotion overwhelming her. "You’d really do that?"

Ginger shrugged, his smirk softening. "For you? Yeah. And besides, Roman and I have fought enough. Might as well see if we can actually work together for once."

Roman huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head. "I never thought I’d hear that from you."

"Yeah, well, neither did I," Ginger admitted. "Guess we’re both growing."

Nat swallowed hard, looking between them, her heart full in a way she had never imagined possible. This wasn’t traditional. It wasn’t what society dictated love should be. But it was theirs.

And maybe, just maybe, that was enough.