The sun dipped beyond the horizon, bleeding amber into the Vance skyline.
Salim and Red sat on the rooftop balcony outside the west wing both nursing untouched glasses of lemon soda. The air was unusually quiet, the kind of stillness that invited secrets.
"She came to your office?" Red asked slowly.
Salim nodded once, eyes on the sky.
"What did she say?"
"She said she couldn't take it anymore. That I was treating her worse than any human should be treated. That… not talking to her hurt."
Red leaned forward. "And what did you say?"
Salim hesitated. "I told her I'm her boss. That she crossed a line."
"Bro…" Red's voice was sharp now. "You've never treated any other intern like this. You could barely stand in the same room with her without looking like your brain was overheating."
Salim ran a hand over his jaw. "I know."
Red didn't back down. "So what is it then?"
Salim exhaled. "I like her, okay? I like her voice, her presence, even the way she annoys me. I like everything. But liking her doesn't change the fact she's an intern. I'm her superior. If I cross that line, I disappoint Alaric.
Red muttered, "So instead, you're breaking her."
Salim didn't reply.
Later that night, Salim received a text from his mom:
"Family dinner tomorrow.karina is returning back to college . Come home."
He sighed and tossed the phone on his desk.
Red poked his head in the room. "Family dinner?"
"Yeah. You in?"
"Only if Karina doesn't try to psychoanalyze me again."
Salim cracked a smile. "No promises."
---
The Vance mansion was filled with warmth and chatter the next evening.
Karina was already telling stories. Elian was teasing Jena with a stolen cookie. Their mother floated around the table, adjusting place settings no one noticed.
But Salim kept glancing at Alaric.
His grandfather was half-present. Laughing where he should. Smiling when necessary. But his eyes… they were somewhere else.
Then, in the middle of dinner, Alaric stood. "Excuse me a moment."
As he stepped out, Salim's phone buzzed. A notification.
We go again, Alaric. Watch your empire crumble starting with your family. Come open and tell the truth.
Chilling.
Salim's chest tightened.
He checked the sender. Unregistered. He tried calling disconnected. He pinged the signal… the number was bouncing off a location deep in the sea.
His stomach turned.
Red, noticing his silence, whispered, "Everything good?"
"No. Someone's threatening my grandfather."
"What?"
Salim didn't answer. His eyes stayed glued to the hallway Alaric had disappeared into.
Minutes later, Alaric returned, claiming a last-minute trip to meet with "the Tuaregs."
Salim didn't say anything.
But inside, alarms were screaming.
----
The next morning, Lian returned to work.
She wasn't the same.
Gone were the modest skirts and tucked blouses. She wore baggy jeans, a fitted top that screamed I don't care anymore.
Because she didn't.
Her hair was tied messily. Her eyes were tired. But her goals? Still sharp. That was the only reason she'd returned.
She didn't come early. She didn't rush greetings. She just… walked in, sat down, and opened her file.
Chloe, doing her makeup at her desk mirror, gave her a once-over. "Damn, Lian. You look… hot. But also rebellious."
Lian smirked. "That's the plan."
"You're gonna get in trouble."
"I hope I do."
---
The elevator dinged.
Red stepped in with Chloe, Lian behind him. Salim was already inside.
Red glanced at her outfit. "Damn, Lian. You're fire."
"Thanks."
Salim didn't even flinch.
Not even a glance.
When the doors opened, he spoke low. "Come to my office."
She followed him without a word and sat down before he could even tell her to.
Salim turned slowly. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Of what?"
"You know the dress code."
"This is professional," she shot back. "Just not… uptight."
"You don't get to define the code."
"I don't like the code."
"Then you can forfeit your internship."
"I'd prefer that. But if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."
She started to rise.
His voice dropped. "Step out that door, and get fired."
She froze. Then turned back slowly. "You don't get to fire me, Salim. Only Alaric does. He brought me here. I didn't even apply."
He walked toward her. Slowly.
"You think that makes you untouchable?"
"No," she said. "But it makes me someone you have to face."
"You're blind," he snapped. "Blind to what's really happening here. And that's why people like you never achieve anything."
The words sliced clean.
She flinched. But she didn't crumble.
"Your very childish, Lian," he added. "What are you? Fifteen? This rebellion won't make us work. Nothing will."
Silence.
Then her voice, small but sharp: "I didn't come to work us out. I came to survive you."
He took a breath, the kind that sounded too close to regret.
"I'm trying to protect you," he said.
She turned slowly. "By pushing me away?"
"Yes."
Her eyes met his, hard but trembling. "Then stop. I don't need your protection. I never asked for it."
"You don't get it, Lian." His voice was suddenly low, sharp. "I know what happens when lines blur. I've seen it. I've lived it. One mistake, one feeling out of place and it burns everything down. Including the people who didn't ask to get involved."
"I'm not fragile."
"I never said you were," he snapped. "But this...whatever this is? It's not safe."
She stepped forward now. One step. A challenge.
"Is that why you can't look at me in the hallway? Why you pretend I don't exist? Because I make you feel unsafe?"
His jaw clenched, but he didn't deny it.
"You're my intern," he said finally. "And I'm responsible for everything that happens in this company including keeping us both from doing something stupid."
"Like pretending this tension doesn't exist?"
"Exactly."
She exhaled, blinking hard. "You don't even know me, Salim. Not really. You think I'm some reckless girl who wears what she wants and rebels for fun. But I'm here for something real. Something bigger than you. And I won't let your coldness throw me off course."
He looked at her for a long moment. Then, slowly, his voice dropped again softer, tighter.
"You think I'm cold because I don't care."
She nodded once. "A little, yeah."
He moved forward, just enough to close the space between them.
"I'm cold because I care more than I should."
That silenced her.
For a beat, the air between them pulsed with something fragile. And then
She blinked, stepping back. "This doesn't work, Salim."
"No," he agreed quietly. "It doesn't."
"But I'm not going to apologize for how I feel. Not again."
"I don't want you to."
Her eyes flicked to his. "Then what do you want?"
Another pause.
"I want us to keep this line," he said. "But I also want to stop lying."
"To me? Or to yourself?"
"To both."
She didn't smile. Didn't flinch. Just nodded.
"Then stop treating me like I'm nothing."
He swallowed. "I'm trying."
She walked toward the door calmer now. But before she left, she turned over her shoulder one last time.
"You can't keep building walls and expect me not to climb them."
The door clicked softly shut behind her.
And Salim, for once, didn't move.
He just stood there still and quiet watching the place where she had stood.