Chapter 39 - The Rooftop Choice
Chapter 39 - The Rooftop Choice
The night air on the Glasshouse rooftop carried a faint bite, sharp against Serena’s skin. Below her, New York sprawled in restless glitter, alive with secrets and shadows.
Nathaniel Crane’s presence pressed against her like gravity—calculated, confident, predatory. His champagne glass caught the light, tilted toward her in invitation.
“Serena,” he said, his voice low, coaxing, “you’ve been standing in Damian Wolfe’s shadow long enough. Don’t you think it’s time you stepped into your own light?”
Her phone buzzed again in her hand. Damian’s message glowed like a lifeline:
Please. Just tell me where you are.
Serena’s throat tightened. She wanted to answer, to anchor herself to the man she’d begun to love despite everything. But every wound throbbed at once—every lie, every headline branding her a fraud.
She slid the phone back into her coat pocket.
Nathaniel’s smile curved, smug. “You didn’t answer him. That says everything.”
Serena’s eyes narrowed. “It says nothing.”
“Oh, it says plenty.” He took a slow step closer. “You’re tired of being his shield. His prop. Damian doesn’t see you, Serena. He uses you.”
She shook her head, though the words pierced deep. “You don’t know him.”
“I know men like him,” Nathaniel countered smoothly. “I’ve fought them my whole career. Damian believes love is just another contract. And he proved it, didn’t he?”
Her chest squeezed at the memory of Damian’s confession—the truth that had gutted her. She forced her voice steady. “He also proved he’s capable of more than contracts. He stood against Graham. He risked everything.”
Nathaniel’s gaze sharpened, then softened, like a snake adjusting its coil. “And yet here you are. With me.”
Serena swallowed hard, glancing out over the city lights. She hadn’t planned to stay this long. Every second felt like she was betraying herself, betraying Damian—but some part of her wanted answers Nathaniel seemed eager to give.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked finally. “Why me?”
His smile turned razor-thin. “Because you’re the key. Damian may not care about his empire, but he cares about you. And I…” He leaned in slightly. “…I care about tearing down Wolfe stone by stone. You can either stand beside him as the rubble falls—or stand with me, and finally breathe free.”
Her stomach knotted. She searched his eyes, looking for something human beneath the hunger for power. But all she saw was calculation, cold and deliberate.
And yet, part of her trembled—because wasn’t this what she wanted once? Freedom. A way out. No more cameras, no more lies.
“Don’t confuse me with you,” she said finally, her voice steadier than she felt. “I won’t be anyone’s weapon.”
Nathaniel chuckled, unbothered. “Not even Damian’s? He’s already wielded you like one.”
Her fingers twitched around the edge of her phone. She wanted to walk away, to prove him wrong, but her feet stayed rooted.
Then, behind her, a voice cut through the night.
“Step away from her.”
Serena spun. Damian stood at the rooftop entrance, chest heaving, his eyes locked on Nathaniel with a fury she’d never seen before.
For a heartbeat, the city noise fell away.
Nathaniel’s smirk only deepened. “Ah. The wolf himself.”
“Damian,” Serena whispered, breathless, torn between relief and dread.
Damian moved closer, every line of his body taut. “You don’t belong here, Serena. You belong with me.”
“Belong,” Nathaniel echoed with a mocking laugh. “See? He can’t help himself. Always possession. Always control.”
Serena’s heart pounded as the two men stared each other down—one her broken truth, the other her dangerous temptation.
Damian’s voice lowered, fierce and raw. “This isn’t about empires, Nathaniel. It’s about her. And you’ll never touch what’s mine.”
The words ignited something sharp in Serena’s chest—half fury, half longing. She wasn’t a thing to be claimed, yet the desperation in Damian’s voice revealed something deeper.
Her pulse thundered. Two men. Two worlds. And her heart fractured between fear, anger, and aching need.
Nathaniel’s gaze slid to her, dark and coaxing. “So, Serena. What’s it going to be? Do you walk back into his cage… or finally step into freedom?”
Her phone buzzed again in her pocket, Damian’s unanswered messages a pulse against her skin.
She stood frozen, her breath shallow, every nerve screaming with the weight of choice.
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