Lisa's POV
The chaos of the battle had settled down, but the silence afterward was almost worse. My heart was still pounding, my body trembling from the adrenaline, but all I could think about was Noha.
He was standing at the edge of the warehouse, his back straight, his expression as cold and stoic as ever. But I could see it in his eyes—the toll the fight had taken on him. The weight of everything he carried, the responsibility, the decisions he had to make. And yet, there was something else in his gaze now. A flicker of something deeper, something I couldn't name.
I approached him carefully, my footsteps quiet on the broken concrete. The sounds of gunfire were distant now, but the tension in the air was palpable.
"Noha," I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "We made it through this. Together."
He didn't turn to look at me, his eyes scanning the surroundings, as if he was still waiting for the next threat to emerge. "You shouldn't have been here, Lisa. You could've—"
"Don't say that," I interrupted, walking closer until I was standing beside him. "I'm not going to let you fight alone. I'm not afraid of this world, Noha. I'm not afraid of you."
He finally turned to face me, his expression unreadable. For a moment, we just stood there, the world around us seeming to fade away. But then, his voice came, low and rough.
"You should be afraid," he said. "This world isn't kind. And I can't protect you from everything."
Noha's POV
I couldn't look at her, not when I knew what I was about to say. The truth was ugly, and I hated the thought of her being dragged further into it. But she needed to understand, she needed to know just how deep this ran.
"Lisa, you're not just with me," I said, my voice tight. "You're with the mafia. You're in this world now. And the price of loyalty isn't something you can pay so easily."
She shook her head, her eyes filled with that same determination that always made me want to give her everything—yet made me want to push her away all at once.
"I don't care," she said firmly. "I don't care about the mafia. I care about you."
Her words hit me harder than I expected. She was right. She had chosen me. But in doing so, she had chosen a life of danger, of violence, and of inevitable loss.
"I can't promise you safety, Lisa. I can't promise you a peaceful life," I whispered, my voice breaking for the first time in ages. "But I can promise you one thing—I won't stop fighting for you."
Lisa's POV
His words struck me like a slap to the face, but instead of feeling defeated, something inside of me only grew stronger. Noha was right in a way—this world wasn't kind, and the price of loyalty was steep. But I had already chosen my side. And it was his.
"I don't want promises, Noha," I said, taking a step closer to him. "I just want you. I want to face everything with you, no matter what it costs."
The tension between us was thick, the air charged with everything we hadn't said to each other until now. I knew what I was getting into. I knew the dangers, the risks. But I couldn't turn back now. Not when I finally had the chance to be with him.
Noha's POV
I stepped toward her, closing the gap between us, my hands instinctively reaching for her face, tracing the line of her jaw with my thumb. The warmth of her skin, the softness of her touch, it was all I needed in this moment.
"You're everything I never thought I deserved," I murmured, my voice low. "And now, I'm scared I won't be enough to protect you."
"I don't need protection," she replied, her eyes fierce with conviction. "I need you. That's all I need."
And in that moment, everything else faded away. The war, the bloodshed, the dangerous path ahead—all of it melted into nothing as I looked at her. The woman I loved.
Lisa's POV
His hands were on me, pulling me close, and for the first time since all of this began, I didn't feel afraid. I didn't care about the dangers anymore. All that mattered was him.
"Noha," I whispered, my hands resting on his chest. "We're going to make it through this. Together."
His grip tightened, his lips pressing against my forehead in a rare moment of tenderness. "I hope you're right, Lisa. Because this life—this world—it won't let you go easily."
Noha's POV
I looked down at her, feeling a strange mix of love and guilt. She was mine, but this world had a way of twisting everything. I had always tried to keep her out of it, to shield her from the truth, but now she was in the middle of it. And I couldn't guarantee her safety.
"I'll do whatever it takes to keep you by my side," I promised, my voice barely audible. "Even if it means burning the world down around me."
She smiled softly, her eyes never leaving mine. "Then let's burn it down together."
Lisa's POV
The air between us was electric, charged with everything we hadn't said until now. I could feel his heartbeat against mine, the rhythm of it matching the pace of my own. We were connected in a way that I couldn't describe, and in that moment, it felt like nothing could break us.
But the darkness that hung over us was always there, lurking in the shadows. The mafia. The danger. The uncertainty. It would always be there, like a constant reminder that nothing good ever came without a price.
Still, I wasn't afraid. Not anymore.
Noha's POV
I leaned down, pressing my lips against hers in a kiss that was slow, deliberate, and full of everything we had both been holding back. She was my anchor in this storm, and for the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to believe that maybe—just maybe—we could survive this.
But the road ahead was still treacherous. And the price of our loyalty was a debt I wasn't sure we could ever repay.