Steve paced the study like a lion in a cage.
Luna sat on the edge of the dusty desk, the notebook clutched against her chest. Her mind raced faster than her heartbeat.
Someone was threatening her brother.
Someone close enough to know exactly where to hit her hardest.
Steve finally stopped pacing. His eyes were burning coals.
"We need to protect Ashy immediately," he said. "Pack your things. You're moving in here."
Luna's mouth dropped open. "What? I can't just move into your house like that!"
Steve crossed the room in two strides, standing right in front of her.
"Listen to me, Luna," he said, voice low and intense. "They're not bluffing. They know you. They know your weaknesses. They'll use Ashy to get to you and to me. I can't risk it. I won't."
"But... what about my mom? About the neighbors? They'll talk"
"Let them talk," Steve snapped. "Your safety matters more than their gossip."
Luna stared at him, heart thudding.
This was the Steve Collins the world feared ruthless, commanding, unbending.
But here he was... bending everything for her.
A lump rose in her throat.
"Okay," she whispered.
Relief flashed across Steve's face so quickly,it almost made her laugh.
Minutes later, Steve was barking orders into his phone.
"Marcus, I need a security team on standby. Two men posted outside Luna's house tonight. No questions."
Marcus's lazy voice came through the speaker. "You're finally admitting you're in love with the poor girl, huh?"
Steve shot a glare at the phone. "Just do it, Gregy."
Marcus chuckled. "Aye aye, lover boy."
Steve ended the call and turned to Luna.
"I'll drive you," he said.
Luna nodded, but deep down, nerves twisted in her stomach.
Moving into Steve's world,even temporarily was crossing a line.
One that couldn't be uncrossed.
But when Steve held the door open for her, smiling that rare, heart-stopping smile...
She realized something terrifying.
She didn't want to go back.
~~~
As they drove through the city, Luna watched Steve from the corner of her eye.
The streetlights cast fleeting shadows across his chiseled jawline. His grip on the steering wheel was tight, knuckles white. He looked like a man ready for war.
"You don't have to do this," Luna said softly. "I don't want you getting hurt because of me."
Steve laughed bitterly. "Too late for that."
Luna blinked. "What do you mean?"
Steve didn't look at her. "You're already under my skin, Luna Charlotte. There's no getting you out."
Luna swallowed hard, her heart doing a wild, stupid dance in her chest.
"Good," she said before she could stop herself.
Steve glanced at her sharply, and for the first time that night, a real smile,a boyish, almost shy smile broke across his face.
It hit her harder than any kiss.
~~~
Meanwhile, back at the Collins mansion, a different storm was brewing.
Mirabel stood at the balcony of her suite, swirling wine in her glass.
She'd seen the text Luna received.
She made sure it was sent.
"Poor little Cinderella," she muttered, smirking. "You think you can steal my throne?"
Her phone buzzed.
A message from the shadow figure:
> Phase Two ready. Waiting for your command.
Mirabel typed back one word:
> Proceed.
If Steve Collins thought he could trade her for some street rat, he was dead wrong.
She'd make sure Luna Charlotte disappeared before she ever wore the Collins crown.
And Steve?
He'd crawl back to her broken, desperate, hers forever.
Mirabel raised her glass to the night sky.
"To love," she whispered, laughing darkly. "And war."
By the time Steve and Luna arrived at her small apartment, the street was dead quiet.
Steve scanned the area like a hawk. Two black SUVs were already parked discreetly nearby Marcus' men, on standby as promised.
Luna gathered her few things quickly,a small suitcase, some books, a few family pictures.
Grace, her mother, watched silently from the kitchen doorway, her face a mixture of worry and understanding.
"You sure about this, baby?" Grace asked, voice low.
Luna hesitated.
She thought about the threats. About Steve's furious protectiveness. About the way her heart leaped whenever he was near.
"I'm sure, Mama," she said.
Grace nodded slowly, pride shining in her tired eyes. "You're stronger than you know, Luna."
Steve waited outside, giving them privacy.
But the moment Luna stepped into the night air, he was beside her, taking the suitcase from her hands without a word.
And just like that, a part of Luna's old life closed behind her.
~~
The next morning, the Collins mansion buzzed like a disturbed beehive.
Whispers flew among the staff
"Did you hear? Mr. Collins brought a girl home."
"Not just any girl, the maid's daughter!"
"And she's staying in the guest wing!"
Luna could feel the stares burning into her back as she followed Steve into the house.
But Steve didn't care.
He didn't hide her.
He didn't pretend she was invisible.
He walked beside her, hand on her lower back protectively, daring anyone to say a word.
Grandma Regina was waiting in the main living room, sitting like a queen on her floral throne.
The old woman peered at Luna over her glasses, a mischievous twinkle in her wrinkled eyes.
"So," she said, tapping her cane. "This is the girl who saved my life."
Luna flushed. "It was nothing, ma'am. Anyone would've done the same."
"Nonsense," Grandma Regina snapped. "You have more spine than half this family."
She tilted her head, studying Luna like a precious artifact.
Then she smiled a slow, wicked smile that reminded Luna startlingly of Steve.
"I like her," she announced loudly.
Steve chuckled under his breath. "Good. Because she's staying."
Grandma Regina winked at Luna. "Don't let him scare you, darling. Underneath all that brooding billionaire nonsense, he's just a little boy with too much money and no common sense."
Steve groaned. "Grandma..."
Luna laughed a real, belly-deep laugh she hadn't felt in weeks.
Maybe... just maybe... she could belong here.
But while Luna found unexpected warmth inside the mansion, cold hatred brewed outside.
Mirabel wasn't sitting still.
She arranged for a gift to be delivered to the Collins mansion that evening
A small, plain package with no return address.
Inside?
A blood-red rose.
And a note written in bold, slashing handwriting:
> "Get out while you still can, Cinderella. Before you lose everything you love."
When Luna opened it, her hands trembled.
Steve snatched the note from her, his face turning to stone.
"Whoever sent this," he said, voice like thunder, "just signed their death warrant."
Luna grabbed his arm, pleading with her eyes. "Don't do anything reckless, Steve."
He looked at her, really looked at her and something in his rage softened.
"For you," he said roughly, "I'll be careful."
But deep down, Luna knew something had already been set into motion.
Something dangerous.
Something unstoppable.
And they were running out of time.
~~~
Steve didn't sleep that night.
He stood by the massive windows of his room, staring out into the darkness, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.
The sight of Luna opening that cursed note replayed over and over in his mind.
The fear in her eyes.
The tremble in her hands.
The silent way she tried to be strong for everyone.
It broke him in ways he couldn't even explain.
He had promised himself a long time ago that he would never let emotions rule him.
But Luna Charlotte?
She had cracked his walls like they were made of glass.
Down the hall, Luna tossed and turned in the guest bedroom, haunted by dreams she couldn't control.
Her father's funeral.
Ashy crying at night.
Her mother wiping away tears when she thought no one was looking.
And now...
Steve.
His touch.
His anger.
His protection.
She sat up, pressing a hand over her heart.
She needed to talk to him.
Now.
~~~~
Luna padded barefoot down the silent hallways, her heart thudding loudly.
She paused outside Steve's door, suddenly unsure.
What if he didn't want to see her?
What if she was just making everything harder for him?
But before she could overthink it, the door swung open.
Steve stood there, hair tousled, shirtless, looking like a storm barely contained.
Neither of them spoke.
They didn't need to.
Steve stepped aside silently, letting her in.
~~~
Inside his room, the tension wrapped around them like heavy velvet.
Luna crossed her arms, hugging herself.
"I'm scared," she admitted, voice shaking. "Not just because of the threats. Because... because being with you feels so good it terrifies me."
Steve's jaw tightened.
"You think it's not the same for me?" he rasped. "You think I don't wake up every day wondering when you'll realize you deserve someone better than a broken man like me?"
Luna's heart cracked.
She crossed the room, standing right in front of him.
"You're not broken, Steve," she whispered. "You're just... human."
And before he could argue, she reached up and kissed him softly,sweet, full of everything words could never capture.
Steve responded instantly, pulling her against him like a drowning man clinging to the only thing keeping him alive.
The kiss deepened, turned desperate, wild.
Clothes were forgotten.
Insecurities melted.
Walls crumbled.
That night, Steve and Luna weren't billionaire and maid's daughter.
They were just two broken souls finding home in each other.
But happiness, as always, was short-lived.
At dawn, a phone call shattered their fragile peace.
Steve answered it, still groggy, Luna curled up against him.
His entire body stiffened.
"What?" he barked into the phone.
Luna sat up, alarmed.
Steve's face turned white.
"They have Ashy," he said hoarsely. "They kidnapped your brother."