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Short filmTranscript
00:00I knew the moment I pressed the shutter that I'd made a mistake.
00:03The sound of the click was soft, swallowed by the crash of the Pacific against the rocks,
00:08but I felt it like a crack through my entire life.
00:11One photo, one accidental frame, was all it took for everything to tilt.
00:17I was standing on the edge of a private beach in Malibu,
00:20my sneakers buried in warm sand, my stomach knotted with hunger.
00:24My camera, a thrift store cannon with a temper worse than mine,
00:28hung from my neck.
00:31I'd come for a paying job, $50 for a shoreline feature.
00:35It wasn't much, but $50 meant groceries.
00:38It meant gas.
00:40It meant one more day pretending I wasn't drowning.
00:43I'd taken photos of driftwood, gull footprints, morning light stretching across the water,
00:47and then I turned my lens slightly north.
00:51That's when I saw him.
00:52A man stood on the deck of a modern glass home perched above the beach,
00:56barefoot, sleeves rolled to his elbows,
00:59slacks that definitely cost more than my monthly rent.
01:02His hair was dark with silver woven through it, catching the morning sun.
01:06He wasn't posing.
01:07He wasn't smiling.
01:09He was simply existing in a way powerful men did,
01:12still, centered, as though the world rearranged itself around them.
01:17He looked up at the exact second I took the photo.
01:20Our eyes met.
01:21A jolt shot through me, fear, awe, something else I didn't have a word for yet.
01:27He moved first, down the deck steps, across the sand, each step measured, unhurried, but
01:34carved with purpose.
01:35I told myself to run, apologize, disappear.
01:40But I was too tired, too hungry, too used to life falling apart.
01:44So I stood there, camera heavy in my shaking hands, as the stranger with the steel blue
01:50eyes reached me.
01:52Delete it.
01:53Just two words.
01:55Low, controlled, unmistakably in command.
01:59I...
01:59I didn't realize this was private property, I stammered.
02:03I'm shooting for a travel blog.
02:05They wanted coastline shots.
02:07I said delete it.
02:08Not loud, not harsh, just certain.
02:11I fumbled with the camera buttons.
02:14My hands were trembling, and not just from panic.
02:17I hadn't eaten yet today, or much yesterday.
02:20He watched me closely, his shadow long across the sand.
02:24But before I could bring up the image, his hand came down over mine.
02:28Large, warm, steadying.
02:31I froze as heat flared up my arm.
02:33His eyes softened.
02:35Barely.
02:36But I saw it.
02:38I'm not taking your camera, he said.
02:40I just want to make sure you delete the photo.
02:43Okay, yes, I'm trying.
02:45Together, our fingers moved across the worn buttons.
02:48The image popped onto the screen.
02:50My breath caught.
02:52It was embarrassingly good.
02:54Sunlight hitting his hair just right, the wind shaping his shirt.
02:57His expression split between surprise and steal.
03:00He muttered, damn it.
03:02I hit delete.
03:03He waited until the screen cleared.
03:05Only then did he exhale, slow and heavy, like he'd been holding his breath for years.
03:10His gaze found mine again.
03:13What's your name?
03:15Part of me wanted to lie, but something in his tone, steady, not unkind, pulled the truth out.
03:20Lena, Lena, he repeated.
03:25The way he said it made my stomach flip.
03:28I'm not trying to scare you.
03:30You just caught me at a bad time.
03:31I didn't know what that meant, but I didn't have the courage to ask.
03:36I should go, I murmured.
03:40I turned, but the sand pitched under my feet.
03:42My vision wavered.
03:43I grabbed for balance, but his hand shot out first, catching my elbow, steadying me before
03:48I hit the ground.
03:49Easy.
03:51His voice changed instantly, from command to concern.
03:54You're pale.
03:55I'm fine.
03:57You're shaking.
03:59I'm just tired.
04:02Lena.
04:03His tone deepened.
04:04Quiet but absolute.
04:06When did you last eat?
04:08I hated that question.
04:09Hated how it exposed me.
04:11Yesterday, I said.
04:13A meal or a snack?
04:15I looked away.
04:16He muttered another word.
04:17Something frustrated, directed at himself, not me.
04:20Then he released a slow breath.
04:22Come with me.
04:23No.
04:24I pulled back.
04:25I don't go places with strangers.
04:28He didn't bristle.
04:29He didn't push.
04:30He simply nodded, acknowledging the boundary.
04:33Good.
04:34You shouldn't.
04:35Then softer.
04:36But you're close to fainting, and I'm not letting you drive in that condition.
04:40My house is right there.
04:42He gestured to the glass home behind him.
04:45Ten minutes.
04:46Something to eat.
04:47Then you can leave.
04:48I hesitated.
04:50But the truth was brutal.
04:52I could barely stand.
04:54I nodded.
04:55He didn't smile.
04:56But relief flickered in his eyes as he gestured for me to follow.
05:01Inside, the air smelled like cedar and salt.
05:03The house was stunning.
05:06Open.
05:07Clean.
05:08Sunlit.
05:09The kind of place that belonged in magazines, not in the orbit of someone like me.
05:15He motioned to a stool at the kitchen island.
05:18Sit.
05:19I did.
05:20He brought me a glass of water first.
05:23Drink.
05:23His tone made it impossible to refuse.
05:27The water hit my empty stomach like a shock.
05:30But it grounded me.
05:32He watched, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
05:35You're a photographer, he said.
05:38I'm trying to be.
05:40I laughed weakly.
05:42Mostly I take whatever tiny freelance jobs I can get.
05:45Landscapes.
05:46Events.
05:46I'm saving for better equipment.
05:49You're talented.
05:50The words stunned me.
05:53You only saw one photo.
05:55A bad photographer couldn't have captured that moment.
05:58His gaze held mine.
06:00You see angles.
06:02Emotion.
06:03Lines most people miss.
06:05Warmth pressed into my chest.
06:07Praise wasn't something I got off in.
06:10Before I could respond, an older woman stepped into the kitchen carrying a plate piled with food.
06:15Eggs.
06:16Toast.
06:16Fruit.
06:17Real food.
06:18Not ramen or vending machine snacks.
06:21My eyes burned.
06:22If he noticed, he didn't say anything.
06:25Eat, he said simply.
06:27I did.
06:28Slowly at first, then faster when the hunger stopped pretending it wasn't clawing at me.
06:32He turned away while I ate, giving me a privacy I didn't expect.
06:37When I finished, he came back to the island, his expression more serious now.
06:42I need to ask you something.
06:44My pulse kicked.
06:46Were you alone out there?
06:47He asked.
06:48On the beach.
06:49Did you see anyone besides me?
06:51Anything unusual?
06:52A knot twisted in my stomach.
06:55No, I didn't see anything.
06:57He nodded slowly, but tension carved at his jaw.
07:01Okay, good.
07:03Why?
07:04I asked.
07:05He didn't answer.
07:07Instead, he slid a business card across the marble.
07:10I stared down.
07:11Nathan Carter.
07:12Carter Shoreline Development Group.
07:14CEO.
07:16My fingers trembled as I picked it up.
07:18If anyone contacts you about being on this beach, he said.
07:22Reporters, strangers, anyone, call me immediately.
07:26A chill skated up my spine.
07:28Why would anyone contact me?
07:29Just call.
07:31I don't want to be part of anything dangerous.
07:34You won't be, he said, as long as that photo stays deleted.
07:38It is.
07:39He held my gaze, searching for any sign of doubt.
07:43Then he nodded.
07:44Good.
07:46I stood.
07:48For the food and the water.
07:51You're welcome.
07:52I walked toward the door, wanting distance, air, anything steady enough to stand on.
07:58But as I stepped outside, sunlight washed over me and froze.
08:03A man leaned against my beat-up car.
08:05Black suit, sunglasses, sharp smile, exactly the type of man your instincts scream to avoid.
08:12Well, he drawled, straightening.
08:14That didn't take long.
08:16Snooping around private beaches now, Lena?
08:18My breath caught.
08:20What?
08:21Who are you?
08:22He ignored the question and tilted his head.
08:25You really shouldn't have taken that photo.
08:28Ice shot through my veins.
08:30The door behind me opened.
08:32Nathan stepped out, his presence sudden and forceful, his voice like steel drawn across stone.
08:39Step away from her.
08:41The man smirked.
08:43Or what?
08:45Nathan moved beside me.
08:47Protective.
08:47Unreadable.
08:48Dangerous in a way I hadn't seen inside the kitchen.
08:51Or you'll find out, Nathan said quietly.
08:55Now.
08:56The man's smirk faltered.
08:58He held up his hands.
09:00Relax.
09:00Just a conversation.
09:02It's over, Nathan said.
09:04Walk away.
09:06A moment stretched.
09:08Tight.
09:08Electric.
09:09Terrifying.
09:10Before the man turned, sauntered down the path, and disappeared through the beach gate.
09:15My knees went weak.
09:17Nathan caught my arm again.
09:19Lena, he said.
09:21Voice no longer sharp but low and urgent.
09:23You need to come back inside.
09:25Now.
09:26I swallowed hard.
09:28Nathan.
09:29What's happening?
09:31His eyes met mine, filled with something dark and unspoken.
09:35You're in danger, he said, because of that photo.
09:39My heart slammed against my ribs.
09:42And the world I thought couldn't get worse suddenly shattered beneath me.
09:45I didn't understand danger until the moment Nathan locked the front door behind us.
09:55The click echoed through the sunlit entryway.
09:58Sharp.
09:59Final.
09:59Too loud for a house that expensive.
10:02My pulse hammered in my ears as he walked ahead of me.
10:05Shoulders tight.
10:06Jaw clenched.
10:07The calm authority he'd shown earlier stripped down to something sharper.
10:12Fear.
10:13Not for himself.
10:15For me.
10:17Sit.
10:18He said, pointing toward the living room.
10:20I sank onto the edge of a leather sofa.
10:23My fingers twisting in my lap.
10:26Nathan stood a few feet away, facing me, arms crossed.
10:29Not closed off, but bracing himself.
10:31I need you to listen carefully, he said.
10:34I'm trying, I whispered.
10:37He drew in a breath.
10:38That man by your car.
10:40His name is Anthony Wade.
10:42The name meant nothing to me.
10:43But the way he said it made a cold weight settle over my chest.
10:48He's a fixer, Nathan continued.
10:51Someone wealthy people hire when they want a problem handled quietly.
10:55What problem?
10:56My voice cracked.
10:58Nathan hesitated.
11:00Then, me.
11:01My heart lurched.
11:03I don't, Nathan, I don't know anything about your life.
11:08I don't want to be involved in...
11:10You already are, he said softly.
11:13Not unkind, just honest.
11:16Brutally, compassionately honest.
11:19He ran a hand through his hair, pacing a few steps before stopping with his back to the window,
11:23ocean light outlining his silhouette.
11:25A week ago, he said quietly.
11:28A fire destroyed one of my development projects in Santa Monica.
11:32A fire?
11:33He nodded once.
11:35Arson.
11:36We think someone targeted it because I refused to sell the land to a competitor.
11:41There's a lawsuit, multiple threats, a whole mess you don't need to be pulled into.
11:44But this morning, he paused, meeting my eyes.
11:49This morning, I had a private conversation with an investor on the deck.
11:52A conversation that can't get out.
11:54Wade was paid to make sure it doesn't.
11:57Oh, God.
11:58And you think I...
12:00Accidentally photographed it, I whispered.
12:04I don't think, he said.
12:06I know.
12:08My stomach twisted.
12:10But I didn't hear anything, I said quickly.
12:13I didn't know what was happening.
12:15I wasn't spying.
12:17I know, he said, stepping closer, voice steady.
12:21I know you weren't.
12:22But they don't care.
12:23They just want the photo gone.
12:25It is gone.
12:27I believe you.
12:29His eyes softened.
12:31But Wade doesn't.
12:33He never does.
12:34He'll assume you kept a copy, sent it somewhere, stored it in the cloud.
12:39I didn't.
12:40I know.
12:41A muscle ticked in his jaw.
12:44But convincing him is the problem.
12:47Silence settled, heavy and suffocating.
12:50My mind raced in every direction.
12:52My car outside, my camera, the $50 job, my half-packed apartment,
12:57the eviction notice sitting like a bruise on my kitchen table.
13:00I don't understand, I whispered.
13:04Why would he follow me?
13:05How would he even know my name?
13:08Nathan's expression darkened.
13:10Because of me.
13:12I blinked.
13:13You?
13:14I asked my security to make sure you made it to your car safely.
13:18He rubbed his forehead.
13:20I didn't expect Wade to arrive before they did.
13:22My throat tightened.
13:25You told someone my name?
13:27I told them a young woman was shooting photos on the shoreline and that I was concerned she
13:30hadn't had eaten.
13:32He exhaled, frustration etched across his features.
13:35I didn't know things would escalate.
13:37If I had...
13:39He stopped himself.
13:40Then quieter.
13:42I'm sorry, Lena.
13:43A billionaire CEO apologizing to a girl who couldn't afford lunch.
13:48The absurdity of it made my eyes sting.
13:51I'm not blaming you, I said shakily.
13:54I just...
13:55I don't know what to do.
13:57He sat beside me, not close enough to touch, but closer than before.
14:02His presence wrapped around me like warmth off a fire.
14:06You don't need to know what to do, he said.
14:08That's my job.
14:10I swallowed.
14:11Your job?
14:13He met my eyes.
14:15To protect you.
14:17I wanted to believe him.
14:19I wanted to fall into the safety of those words.
14:22But reality was sharper.
14:24What does that even mean?
14:26I asked.
14:27I can't stay here.
14:29I have no food at home.
14:30My rent is overdue.
14:32My car barely runs.
14:33And some man in a suit thinks I'm a threat to...
14:36God, I don't even know what.
14:39Nathan's gaze sharpened.
14:40Not with anger, but with something like resolve.
14:43Then you're not going home.
14:45What?
14:46You're staying here.
14:48I shot to my feet.
14:50Nathan, that's insane.
14:51I can't just...
14:52You can, he said, standing too.
14:55And you will.
14:56At least for tonight.
14:57No, I said.
15:00No, I won't be your...
15:02Your charity case.
15:03His jaw tightened.
15:05This isn't charity.
15:06It's safety.
15:08I don't want to rely on someone like you.
15:11He flinched.
15:12Not visibly.
15:13Not dramatically.
15:14But I felt it.
15:16The subtle shift in his breath.
15:18The quiet drop of his shoulders.
15:19Someone like me.
15:22He repeated softly.
15:24And what exactly is that?
15:27I swallowed.
15:28Rich.
15:30Powerful.
15:31Angry.
15:32You have a whole world I don't understand.
15:35He stepped closer.
15:37Slow and deliberate.
15:39And I have a starving photographer who almost passed out on my beach this morning and is still
15:43trying to pretend she doesn't need help.
15:45The words pierced straight through me.
15:49His voice softened.
15:51Lena, I'm not your enemy.
15:53My throat burned.
15:55And I'm not your responsibility.
15:57Maybe not.
15:59His voice dropped to a low, intimate register.
16:02But I don't want to see you hurt.
16:04That admission, quiet, raw, did something to me.
16:08I looked away, but he gently caught my chin, guiding my eyes back to his.
16:12His touch was barely there.
16:14Respectful.
16:14Careful not to cross lines.
16:17Stay, he said.
16:19Just until tomorrow.
16:20Let me figure out what Wade wants and how to shut this down.
16:23I shouldn't be here, I whispered.
16:25But you are?
16:27His thumb brushed the edge of my jaw.
16:29Not possessive.
16:30Not claiming.
16:31Just a warm reassurance that made my breath hitch.
16:34And you're safe here.
16:36I promise.
16:37My heart wavered.
16:39Not because of danger, but because of him.
16:42The way he looked at me like I wasn't a problem.
16:44Like I wasn't a burden.
16:46Like he was someone who could take storms and turn them quiet.
16:50But I pulled back.
16:52I can't stay in a stranger's house.
16:54People will talk.
16:55I don't care what people say.
16:58Well, I do.
17:01Nathan studied me, the tension between us stretching taut as a wire.
17:06Lena, I'm trying very hard to respect your boundaries right now.
17:09But I need you to understand.
17:11If you walk out that door, Wade will follow you.
17:13My breath faltered.
17:16There has to be another option.
17:19There is, he said.
17:21Stay.
17:22Just for a day.
17:23I sank back onto the sofa, burying my face in my hands.
17:29I didn't want this.
17:30I didn't want to need someone like him.
17:33I didn't want to fall into a world where a single mistake, one photo, could reshape
17:38everything I thought was stable.
17:40But I also didn't want to die in a parking lot because some fixer thought I might have
17:44evidence.
17:45I lifted my head.
17:48One night, I said, voice barely above a whisper.
17:52Just one.
17:54Relief washed over his expression, quiet and deep.
17:57One night, he agreed.
17:59But I'm not sleeping in your bedroom.
18:02The corner of his mouth lifted, only slightly, but enough to make my chest flutter.
18:07You won't, he promised.
18:10You can take the guest room, the door locks, from the inside.
18:14I nodded slowly.
18:16He stepped back, giving me space I hadn't realized I needed.
18:20I'll have dinner prepared in a few hours, he said.
18:24And I hope this isn't T crossing a line, but I'll make a few calls about your car.
18:29It's not safe as it is.
18:31It barely runs, I admitted.
18:33Then I'll fix it.
18:34You can't keep fixing things for me, he held my gaze.
18:38I'm not fixing you, Lena.
18:40I'm protecting you.
18:43It should have scared me.
18:45Instead, it warmed something hollow inside me I didn't want to name.
18:50Hours later, after he showed me the guest room and I shut the door, I finally let myself
18:55sink onto the bed.
18:56The ocean murmured beyond the windows.
18:59The house felt too big, too warm, too safe.
19:02And it scared me more than the danger outside, because I already knew, just one day around
19:08Nathan Carter was enough to change everything.
19:11But that night, as I drifted toward sleep, I heard Nathan's voice outside my door, low
19:16and tense, speaking on the phone.
19:18I don't care what it takes.
19:20She's under my protection now.
19:22If Wade or anyone else comes near her, deal with it.
19:26A beat of silence.
19:27Then colder.
19:29Yes.
19:30Whatever it costs.
19:30My heart thudded painfully.
19:34I wasn't a stranger anymore.
19:36I was someone he was willing to fight for.
19:38Someone he was already risking too much for.
19:40And that terrified me more than anything Wade could do.
19:43I didn't sleep much that night, partly because I was in a stranger's house, mostly because
19:49that stranger had become someone I couldn't stop thinking about.
19:53Nathan's voice on the phone replayed in my mind.
19:56Controlled, deadly, protective in a way that made something deep in my chest ache.
20:02By sunrise, the ocean was filmed gold, and I was still awake, sitting cross-legged in the
20:08guest room's window seat, hugging my knees.
20:10A soft knock broke the silence.
20:14Lena?
20:16Nathan's voice drifted through the door, low, hesitant, unlike him.
20:21Are you awake?
20:22I swallowed.
20:24Yeah.
20:25He waited a full second before quietly asking,
20:28Can I come in?
20:31Something tightened behind my ribs.
20:33He was giving me control when he could have easily taken it.
20:37Yes, I said.
20:39The door creaked open.
20:40Nathan stood there, shirt slightly rumpled, hair damp.
20:43Like he'd just run water through it while stressed.
20:46The early light washed over him, making the gray in his temples shine like silver.
20:51You didn't sleep, he said.
20:53Not a question.
20:55Neither did you.
20:56He exhaled.
20:59Fair point.
21:00He stepped inside, shutting the door gently behind him.
21:04A strange tension thickened the room.
21:06Soft, charged, a thread between us neither of us wanted to cut.
21:10I have updates, he said.
21:13I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
21:15Am I going to panic?
21:17I'm trying very hard to prevent that.
21:20His mouth twitched in something that wasn't quite a smile.
21:23Which is why I want to explain things slowly.
21:27I nodded.
21:28He sat across from me, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees.
21:33Wade has been pulled off.
21:34Nathan said.
21:36Officially.
21:37Officially?
21:38I echoed.
21:39Unofficially, he's still unhappy someone interfered with his assignment.
21:43Nathan's jaw hardened.
21:45But he's being watched.
21:46He won't come near you again.
21:48Relief fluttered through me.
21:50Weak.
21:51Temporary.
21:52So, it's over?
21:54For you?
21:56Yes.
21:57He paused.
21:58For me?
21:59Not exactly.
22:01Something cold slid through my chest.
22:04Nathan.
22:05He shook his head.
22:07This isn't your burden.
22:09But it is, I insisted.
22:11You're in trouble because of that photo.
22:13Because you tried to protect me.
22:16His expression softened in a way that made my breath catch.
22:20Lena, I chose to protect you.
22:22That word, chose, unraveled something inside me.
22:27My heart raced.
22:29My throat tightened.
22:30I couldn't look away from him.
22:33Nathan, I whispered, forcing myself to ask the question that had been suffocating me since yesterday.
22:39Why?
22:40Why go this far for someone you barely know?
22:43He stared at me for a long moment.
22:46Then he stood abruptly and walked to the window, bracing his hands on the sill.
22:50The muscles in his back tightened beneath his shirt.
22:53When I was 27, he said quietly, my sister got involved with a man who hurt her, manipulated her.
23:01Someone with more power, more money, more influence.
23:04She was young and overwhelmed and...
23:06God, she tried to handle it alone.
23:10My breath stilled.
23:12I didn't see the signs, he continued.
23:16Not until it was too late.
23:18He turned his head slightly, just enough for me to see the pain etched into his profile.
23:23Ever since then, he said, voice rough, I've promised myself if I ever saw someone in that position again, someone vulnerable, someone alone, I'd intervene.
23:35I'd never let what happened to her happen to anyone else.
23:39The puzzle pieces snapped together in a painful, perfect click, that fierce protectiveness, the anger in his voice last night, the guilt he carried like armor.
23:49My heart broke for him.
23:50Nathan, I whispered, stepping off the window seat.
23:55I'm not your sister.
23:57I know.
23:59His voice was almost a whisper.
24:01But I recognized that look in your eyes yesterday.
24:04Hunger, exhaustion, fear you were too proud to show.
24:08A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.
24:12He turned fully toward me, his expression tight, vulnerable in a way I'd never seen.
24:17I'm not trying to save you, he said.
24:20I just couldn't walk away.
24:23Silence pulsed between us, fragile, intimate.
24:27He took a slow step toward me, then another.
24:31Lena.
24:33His voice dropped to a low, trembling register I didn't think he was capable of.
24:38I know you're young.
24:39I know you're trying to survive.
24:41And the last thing you need is someone like me dragging you into his world.
24:45I didn't say that, I whispered.
24:48No, he said.
24:49But you should.
24:52He stopped in front of me, close enough to feel his breath warm my cheek.
24:57I'm not simple, he murmured.
24:59My life isn't simple.
25:01And I don't want to hurt you.
25:02His confession wrapped around my ribs until it was almost hard to breathe.
25:06You're not hurting me, I said.
25:08Not yet.
25:10His eyes flicked to my mouth.
25:11But if you stay near me, you might.
25:15My pulse skittered.
25:17I can decide that for myself.
25:19His breathing hitched.
25:21For the first time, Nathan looked genuinely shaken.
25:24Lena, he said roughly.
25:27Tell me to back away.
25:28I didn't.
25:30I couldn't.
25:31Instead, I whispered.
25:33I don't want you to.
25:35That broke him.
25:36Not in a loud way.
25:38Not in a dramatic way.
25:39In the quiet, devastating way, a man breaks when he has been holding the world together by force,
25:44and someone finally reaches out and touches the fracture.
25:47His forehead gently pressed against mine.
25:49I closed my eyes.
25:52God, he breathed.
25:54You're going to undo me.
25:57My hands lifted shakily, fingertips brushing his chest.
26:00Not to pull him closer, but to steady myself.
26:04I don't understand what we're doing, I whispered.
26:07But I don't want to stop.
26:10His fingers slid around the back of my neck, warm and strong, but careful.
26:15Always careful.
26:16You don't have to understand, he murmured.
26:18Just don't run.
26:20For the first time in months, I didn't want to.
26:22But before he could pull me closer, his phone buzzed sharply in his pocket.
26:26He tensed.
26:27I'm sorry, he whispered against my forehead.
26:30I need to take this.
26:32He stepped back, answering the call.
26:35I wiped my eyes quickly, trying to compose myself.
26:39But the moment he spoke, everything inside me froze.
26:42No, he said sharply.
26:45She stays out of it.
26:47I don't care what the board thinks.
26:48I said she's protected.
26:50That's final.
26:51A beat.
26:52Then quieter but deadly.
26:55If they're forcing a vote, I'll walk away from the company before I let them drag her name into this.
26:59My breath caught.
27:01He would walk away?
27:04From a billion-dollar empire?
27:06Because of me?
27:08He hung up and turned back toward me.
27:11Nathan, I whispered, horrified.
27:13You can't do that.
27:14It's not your decision.
27:17But it's your life.
27:19He stepped closer.
27:21My life is not worth your safety.
27:24I shook my head.
27:25You're risking everything, your company, your reputation, over someone who doesn't have anything to offer you.
27:32He cupped my jaw gently, tilting my face up.
27:35You offered me something the moment you refused to run from me, he said.
27:40Honesty.
27:41Courage.
27:43Something real.
27:44My lip trembled.
27:46But I'm just...
27:47Don't you dare finish that sentence.
27:50His voice thickened.
27:52You're not just anything.
27:54Tears blurred my vision.
27:56He lifted his thumb, brushing one away.
27:59This decision is mine, he said softly.
28:02Let me choose you.
28:04My heart cracked open.
28:06Nathan, I whispered, I don't want you to lose everything.
28:11I'm not losing anything, he murmured.
28:14I'm letting go of something that stopped mattering the second you collapsed on my beach.
28:18Warmth flooded my chest.
28:20Terrifying.
28:21Breathtaking.
28:22I stepped forward until my forehead rested against his heart.
28:25His arms came around me slowly, like he was afraid I might break.
28:30I didn't.
28:31I breathed.
28:33For the first time in a long time.
28:36Two months later, I stood on the cliffs above the same Malibu shoreline,
28:40camera strap around my neck, sunlight on my skin.
28:44Nathan slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me close.
28:47His shirt sleeves were rolled up, the ocean wind tugging at his silver-threaded hair.
28:52The board had forced him out of his CEO position.
28:55But he didn't regret it.
28:57Not once.
28:59He started a small development firm.
29:01Selective projects he actually cared about.
29:04Less money.
29:05Less power.
29:06More freedom.
29:07And us?
29:08We had found a rhythm.
29:10Slow.
29:11Steady.
29:12Real.
29:13I have something for you, Nathan said.
29:16I raised a brow.
29:17Nathan?
29:18No arguments this time.
29:20He placed a small box in my hands.
29:23Inside was a new camera.
29:24A good one.
29:25Professional.
29:27My breath caught.
29:28Nathan?
29:29Don't say it's too much, he murmured.
29:32You deserve tools that match your talent.
29:34I blinked fast as emotion swelled.
29:36I wanted to give you the world, he said against my temple.
29:41But you only ever asked me for a little safety.
29:44A little space.
29:45A little time.
29:47His hand tightened around mine.
29:49So now I'm asking for something.
29:52I turned toward him.
29:54What?
29:55Stay, he said softly.
29:58Stay in my life.
29:59Not because you need me, but because you want me.
30:02My throat tightened.
30:04I do.
30:05Then that's enough.
30:07I smiled.
30:08Wide.
30:09Honest.
30:09Full.
30:10The ocean roared below us.
30:12Sunlight turning everything warm.
30:14I lifted the camera.
30:17Hold still.
30:18I whispered.
30:19Nathan chuckled.
30:21You sure you want a picture of me?
30:22I want a picture of the man who saved my life, I said.
30:26And then let me save his.
30:28He wrapped his arms around me from behind, chin resting on my shoulder.
30:32Click.
30:34A single frame.
30:36A new beginning.
30:38A world neither of us had to face alone ever again.
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