SIENNA.
The weight of my newly found freedom crushed me harder than the fear of my past ever could. I sat cross-legged on the plush cream-colored couch in Zane's study, the city skyline glittering beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. Absorbing the dazzling flood of the rising sun.
I heaved a deep sigh, soaking at the moment. The rival cartel had vanished as if they never existed. Zane and his men had wiped them out in a brutally bloody clash, and even though it had been a week, I was still haunted by the gory experience even when wide-awake.
I had known Zane Calloway was going to be the one to help me get rid of the consequences of my father's sins. His greedy obsession with power that had shackled me to a life of running and fighting was finally buried with the bodies of my enemies. I felt a budding of pride thinking back at the decisions that had brought me to that day. I didn't make a mistake coming to Atlas; Zane had not stopped until we were free of the cartel and everything from our past that had been haunting both of us. We were free.
Yet, as I stared at the glass of bourbon in my hand, I felt a restless itch, knowing I was truly free. But I had no idea what to do with it. It felt foreign.
Belinda, who was sprawled across the armchair opposite me, her auburn curls spilling over the cushion, was swiping through her phone, her fingers moving with casual precision. She must have felt my eyes on her because she suddenly looked up, and stared in my direction. Her eyes were soft, watching me with that quiet intensity that always made me feel seen.
"You're brooding again, Sisi," she said, tossing the phone to the space between the couch and the huge flower vase.
I snorted, swirling the bourbon but still not drinking. "I'm not brooding. I'm... thinking."
"Same difference to you." She sat up. "Spill it, Sienna. I don't like that look. Tell me I am wrong?"
I leaned back and let my gaze drift to the ceiling first, and the bar was stocked with liquor I had never heard of before. I became a full-time guest in Zane's home.
"I don't know," I admitted. "I thought ending the cartel would feel finally, like I had won something. But now that it's over, I feel like I'm floating without an anchor or a direction for my boat. Just... nothing."
Belinda tilted her head, her lips pouted as she considered me. "You're saying the chase was what kept you going." It wasn't a question. She always had a way of cutting through my mess of thoughts, laying them bare for me.
I nodded, my fingers tightening around the glass. "All those years of running and hiding from the cartel kind of gave me a purpose. A reason to keep moving, and without it, I don't know who I am. I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."
She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, her eyes glinting with warmth. "Sienna, you're not your father's shadow. You're not the cartel's prey anymore, either. You're free to live as you. And you get to decide what that means now. That's the scary part, sure, but it's also the best part."
I let out a soft chuckle, shaking my head. "You make it sound so easy."
"It's not," she said, shrugging. "But you're not alone in it. You've got me, for one. And..." She hesitated, a sly smile tugging at her lips. "You've got Zane."
My stomach did a little flip at his name, and I hated how transparent it made me feel. Zane. He had fought beside me, bled for me, and somehow wormed his way into my heart despite my best efforts to keep him at arm's length.
I was in love with him without a doubt, but the idea of handing over the drive, which was my only leverage from my father's empire, felt like surrendering a part of myself. I wasn't ready to let go of that control, not even for him. Was I my father's child after all? Power-hungry like him.
"I don't know if I'm ready to give him the drive," I said, in a whisper. It's not that I don't trust him. I just need to stand on my own. I've spent my whole life running from someone else's choices. I want to make my own for once."
Belinda's smile softened, and she reached across the table, squeezing my hand. "Then don't give it to him. Not yet. Figure out what you want first. Zane's a big boy, he can handle waiting. And you know I'm with you, whatever you decide."
I squeezed her hand back, grateful beyond words. "Speaking of decisions," I said, leaning forward with a smirk. "What's this about you and Travis? You've been blushing like a schoolgirl every time he's mentioned."
Her cheeks flushed pink, and she swatted at me, laughing. "Oh, shut up! I do not blush."
"See? You totally do," I teased, pointing at her. "Come on, Bel. Talk to me. You are going to go on that dinner date. You owe him for helping us back then, and don't you dare try to tell me it's just because he cracked the encryption on the drive."
She groaned, flopping back on the couch and covering her face with her hands. "Okay, fine. He's kind of adorable, alright? He's all nerdy and awkward, but there's this spark in him. he akes me feel giddy." She peeked through her fingers, "I want to see where it goes. Is that crazy?"
I grinned, warmth spreading through me at her admission. "Not crazy at all. Travis is a good guy. A little too obsessed with his tech toys, but good. You deserve someone who makes you giddy."
She dropped her hands, her smile wide and unguarded. "Thanks, Sienna. I mean it."
We leaned across the table, wrapping each other in a fierce hug. Her curls tickled my cheek.
A throat cleared behind us, sharp and deliberate. I froze, my heart lurching as I pulled back from Belinda. Zane stood in the doorway, his dark eyes glinting with amusement. He leaned against the frame, hands in his leather jacket stretched tight over his shoulders. The man looked like he had stepped out of a movie, all charming and quiet intensity.
"How long have you been standing there?" I asked, noting how my pulse raced, half from surprise, half from the way his gaze locked onto mine, like he could see right through me.
"Long enough," he said, a deep smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Heard you talking about being your own boss. I've got to say, it's pretty damn hot."
I opened my mouth to retort, but before I could, he crossed the room in three strides, swept me off the couch, and kissed me. His warm lips were stealing my breath and scattering my thoughts. I melted into him, my hands fisting in his jacket, the world narrowing to the heat of his body against mine.
Belinda whooped, clapping like a cheerleader. "Get it, girl!"
Zane pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against mine, his breath warm against my lips. "I love you, Sienna," he murmured, "Hearing you talk like that... knowing you're carving your own path? Makes me love you even more."
I snickered, caught off guard by the confession I'd been waiting to hear for so long. "Took you long enough to say it," I teased.
He grinned, that rare, boyish smile that always undid me. Without another word, he scooped me up, my legs dangling as I giggled, actually giggled, like some lovesick teenager. Belinda's laughter followed us as he carried me out of the study, knowing where we were headed. The master bedroom. There, Zane would show me that I would never be a guest again.
I wanted that too, since I was bound to Calloway's heir from the minute I walked into Atlas. Or as my father's locket had eventually revealed, it was way before our path crossed. I was bound to be Zane Calloway's bride.
