Page 124 of Falling for the Grump Billionaire

The last twenty-four hours have been relentless—a hurricane of explosions, gunfire, and revelations that keep replaying in my mind. Reyes’s trap, Conrad’s escape, and the flash drive now in our possession. It feels like we’re teetering on the edge of something much bigger, and the ground beneath us is crumbling.

Behind me, Dominic’s quiet, focused energy fills the room. I turn, my gaze falling on him. He’s at the dining table, surrounded by papers, screens, and coffee cups. His sleeves arerolled up, his tie discarded, and his jaw is tight with unrelenting determination. He looks like a man on a mission—a man who refuses to let the world burn down around him.

But even Dominic Kane has his limits.

“You’re staring,” he says, his voice low and steady, without looking up.

I blink, startled, and try to cover my embarrassment by taking another sip of coffee. “You need rest,” I say instead. “You’ve been at this all night.”

“So have you.” His reply is matter-of-fact, though when he finally looks at me, there’s a flicker of concern in his piercing blue eyes. “Did you sleep at all?”

I shrug. “A little.” It’s a lie, and we both know it. There’s no point pretending when exhaustion weighs on both of us like a second skin.

Dominic pushes back from the table, crossing the room with the same controlled precision he uses for everything. He stops in front of me, taking the mug from my hands and setting it aside before gently cupping my face. His touch is warm, grounding, and it threatens to undo the fragile hold I have on my emotions.

“You need to take care of yourself,” he says softly, his thumb brushing over my cheek. “You can’t keep going like this.”

A lump forms in my throat, and I have to look away. I don’t want him to see the cracks forming inside me—the fear, the doubt, the overwhelming sense of being in over my head. “What aboutyou?” I counter, my voice trembling slightly. “You’re running on empty too. You can’t rebuild your company overnight.”

“I don’t have a choice.” His voice is quiet, but there’s steel beneath it. “Reyes wants me to fall apart. He wants Kane Enterprises to be another one of his casualties. I won’t let him win.”

The fire in his words tugs at something deep inside me. Dominic Kane is a force of nature—unyielding, determined, and unrelenting. But I know the weight of it all is crushing him, even if he refuses to show it.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” I whisper, the words slipping out before I can stop them.

His gaze softens, and for a moment, the hard edges of his expression fade. “Neither do you,” he replies, his voice a gentle contradiction to the storm in his eyes.

The raw truth in his words leaves me breathless. I’ve spent so long fighting my own battles, never asking for help, never trusting anyone to carry the weight with me. But Dominic’s strength is different—it’s steady, unshakable, and it feels like something I can lean on.

“Eva,” he says, tilting his head slightly, his voice firm but kind. “Talk to me.”

I hesitate, wrapping my arms around myself as if it will hold me together. “I don’t know where I fit in all of this,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “Everything that’s happened—it’s because of me. Reyes targeted me to get to you, and now I’m stuck in the middle of a war I never asked for.”

“Who says you need to walk away?” he asks, his tone calm but resolute.

“Dominic, you saw what he did. He’ll keep using me as leverage. He’ll—”

“Stop.” The single word carries the full weight of his authority, cutting through my spiraling thoughts. “Reyes dragged you into this, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a choice. You stayed, Eva. You fought back. And I don’t regret a single moment of having you by my side.”

His words hit me like a wave, knocking the air from my lungs. I stare at him, stunned, as his thumb traces a slow, soothing pattern over my shoulder.

“You’re not just caught in the middle,” he continues, his voice steady and deliberate. “You’re the reason I’m still standing.”

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes, and I look away, blinking quickly. “I don’t feel like I’ve done anything,” I whisper.

Dominic’s fingers tilt my chin back up, forcing me to meet his gaze. “You’ve done more than you realize.”

The conviction in his voice sends a warmth spreading through my chest, chasing away some of the doubt that’s been eating at me. For the first time in days, I feel like I can breathe again.

“Come here,” he says, gesturing toward the table.

I frown, unsure, but I follow him. He picks up a sheet of paper—a neatly outlined plan—and hands it to me.

“What is this?” I ask, scanning the page.

“A roadmap,” he replies. “A plan to rebuild Kane Enterprises. To take Reyes down. To fix everything he tried to destroy.”

The list is meticulous, just like Dominic. It’s a step-by-step strategy that covers everything from locking down the company’s security to tracing Reyes’s financial network.

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