Chapter 5: The Ultimatum

The afternoon stretched like a taut wire, humming with tension that seemed to permeate every corner of the office. Liam found himself checking on Chloe more often than was professional, each glance confirming what he'd feared—she was withdrawing into herself, building walls he wasn't sure he could breach.

At three-thirty, she appeared in his doorway, her face carefully composed but her eyes betraying the storm beneath.

"Can we talk?" she asked quietly. "Privately?"

He nodded, gesturing her inside before closing the door. The click of the lock seemed to echo in the sudden silence.

"I keep thinking about what you said," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "About deserving more."

"You do."

"Do I?" She moved to the window, staring out at the city skyline. "Because I've been with Mark for two years, and I can't remember the last time he looked at me the way you do. Like I'm..." She struggled for words. "Like I matter."

The pain in her voice made something fierce rise in his chest. "You matter to me."

She turned from the window, and he could see tears threatening to spill over. "That's what makes this so impossible. With you, I feel alive. I feel like myself again. But with him..."

"What happens with him, Chloe?"

The question hung in the air like a challenge. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly looking younger, more vulnerable.

"He controls everything," she whispered. "What I wear, where I go, who I talk to. He says it's because he loves me, but it doesn't feel like love. It feels like drowning."

The admission broke something open in Liam's chest. He moved closer, his hands finding her shoulders.

"Then why stay?"

"Because I'm scared," she said, the words barely audible. "Because he's made me believe that no one else would want me. That I should be grateful for his attention, even when it suffocates me."

"That's not love, Chloe. That's possession."

She looked up at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "I know that. In my head, I know. But knowing and feeling are different things."

"What do you feel when you're with me?"

The question slipped out before he could stop it, raw and desperate.

"Free," she said without hesitation. "Terrified and exhilarated and completely free. Like I could be anyone, do anything."

"Then be free."

"It's not that simple—"

"It is." His hands tightened on her shoulders. "It's exactly that simple. You choose."

She stepped back, shaking her head. "You don't understand. Mark isn't the kind of man who accepts rejection gracefully. He'll make my life hell. He'll—"

"He'll what?" Liam's voice carried a dangerous edge. "Threaten you? Intimidate you? Because if he does, he'll have to deal with me."

Something shifted in her expression—surprise, maybe, or hope she was afraid to acknowledge.

"You can't protect me from everything, Liam."

"Watch me."

The words came out rougher than intended, loaded with promise and possession in equal measure. They stared at each other across the small space, the air between them charged with electricity.

"This is insane," she whispered.

"Probably."

"We barely know each other."

"I know enough." He moved closer, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "I know you challenge me in ways I didn't know I needed. I know you make me feel more alive than I have in years. I know that watching him put his hands on you today made me want to commit murder."

Her breath caught. "Liam—"

"I know this is fast and reckless and completely against every rule I've lived by," he continued, his hands framing her face. "But I also know that what we have is real. What you have with him is a cage."

Tears spilled over now, tracking down her cheeks. "What if I'm not brave enough?"

"You are." His thumbs brushed away her tears. "You were brave enough to challenge me that first day. Brave enough to call dibs in reverse. Brave enough to make me fall for you in three days."

The words hung between them like a confession. Her eyes widened.

"Liam..."

"I'm falling for you, Chloe. Hard and fast and completely out of control. And I can't watch you go back to him knowing what he does to you."

The admission seemed to break something loose in her. She kissed him then, desperate and fierce, pouring all her fear and longing into the connection between them.

When they broke apart, both breathing hard, he rested his forehead against hers.

"Choose," he said quietly. "Choose him and his cage, or choose freedom. Choose me."

"And if I choose you? What then? We sneak around like criminals? Hide what we have?"

"At first, maybe. Until we figure out how to navigate the professional complications. But Chloe—" He pulled back to look at her directly. "I don't want to hide you. I want to take you to dinner and hold your hand in public and tell the world that you're mine."

The possessiveness in his voice should have alarmed her. Instead, it sent heat spiraling through her veins.

"This could destroy both our careers," she pointed out.

"So could a lot of things. That doesn't mean they're not worth the risk."

She was quiet for a long moment, and he could practically see her weighing options, calculating consequences.

"I need time," she said finally.

"How much time?"

"I don't know. A few days? A week?"

Something cold settled in his stomach. "A week to decide if you want to keep letting him control you?"

"A week to figure out how to break up with someone who doesn't believe in the word no."

The fear in her voice made his protective instincts roar to life again. "Let me help."

"This is something I have to do myself," she said softly. "If I'm going to be free, I need to be the one who chooses it."

He wanted to argue, to insist that he could make this easier for her. But he understood what she was saying. This wasn't just about choosing between two men—it was about choosing herself.

"One week," he said finally.

"One week."

"But Chloe—" His voice carried a warning edge. "I meant what I said about not watching him hurt you. If he so much as raises his voice to you, I want to know about it."

"Liam—"

"Promise me."

She looked into his eyes and saw the fierce protectiveness there, the barely leashed violence that Mark's presence had awakened. It should have frightened her. Instead, it made her feel cherished in a way she'd forgotten was possible.

"I promise."

He kissed her then, soft and sweet and full of unspoken promises. When they broke apart, her resolve felt stronger, clearer.

"I should go," she said reluctantly. "I need to think about how to do this."

"One week," he repeated.

"One week."

She moved toward the door, pausing with her hand on the handle.

"Liam?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For seeing me. For making me remember who I am underneath all his expectations."

"You never forgot," he said quietly. "You just needed someone to remind you."

As the door closed behind her, Liam sank into his chair, the weight of what he'd just done settling over him. He'd laid his cards on the table, demanded she choose between the life she knew and the uncertain future he was offering.

It was the biggest gamble of his life.

But as he thought about the way she'd kissed him, the desperate hunger in her touch, the hope flickering to life in her eyes, he knew it was a bet worth making.

One week. Seven days to find out if she was brave enough to choose freedom.

Seven days to find out if what they had was strong enough to survive the storm that was coming.

Because Mark Sanders didn't strike him as the type to let go easily. And if Chloe chose to leave him, Liam had the sinking feeling they were both going to learn exactly what kind of man they were dealing with.

But that was a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, all he could do was wait and hope that the woman who'd turned his world upside down would be brave enough to turn her own world upside down too.

The countdown had begun.