The apartment was quiet when they stepped inside. The door clicked shut behind them, muffling the chaos of the world outside
Neither spoke.
Grace stood in the foyer, her hand still in Liam's , her pulse still thrumming from what she'd said to her father and from the way it had felt to finally, choose herself.Choose him.
Liam turned to her slowly, like he didn't want to startle the silence between them. "Are you okay?"
Grace looked up at him, and for the first time in a long time, didn't hide behind her usual armor. "I don't know," she whispered. "But I'm not afraid."
He searched her face, something soft in his eyes. "You were incredible back there."
"I was furious," she said. "But I think I needed to be."
She stepped closer
"I spent so long trying to be perfect , trying to be the daughter he could parade and the woman the world approved of. But I was never seen, not really." Her voice faltered. "And then you walked in, and it was like... I couldn't hide anymore."
Liam's expression was unreadable for a second. Then he closed the gap between them.
"You don't have to hide," he said, voice rough"Not from me."
His hand cupped her jaw, gentle, reverent. She leaned into it, eyes fluttering shut
"I want to be brave now," she said"I want to feel everything I've been too scared to"
When she opened her eyes, he was still there.
"You've already been brave" he murmured "Let me take care of the rest."
He kissed her not like the rushed passion of before, not like something stolen. This kiss was slow, full of reverence and heat and something deeper that settled low in her chest. She melted into him, arms wrapping around his neck as his hands found her back.
They moved together without words, through the open-plan living room, toward the bedroom. Liam paused at the edge, searching her gaze for permission. For certainty.
Grace nodded, heart in her throat.
This time, it was different, this time, there was no tension, no games, no fear of who would have more power when morning came. Only the warmth of his mouth on hers, the steady thrum of his heart beneath her palms, and the quiet sounds of the city far, far below.
She gasped softly as his hands brushed her skin slow, patient, reverent. Her breath hitched, but he didn't rush her. He simply looked at her like she was the most honest thing in his life.
And when their bodies finally met , when the last distance between them vanished , it wasn't about dominance or surrender. It was about trust. About choosing each other in a world that demanded they choose anything
Afterward, she curled into his chest, his arms wrapped around her like a promise.
"You've ruined me," she whispered sleepily.
Grace smiled into her hair "Good."
They lay like that for a long time, tangled in silence and sheets and something wordless between them.
And for the first time, neither of them felt the need to run.