<b>Chapter </b><b>128 </b>


    42%


    The shoot wrapped with a soft click of the camera and the faint buzz of chatter as the crew began packing up.


    Nivera sat on the edge of a long white bench, flipping through the glossy photographs that had just been pulled up on the tablet in front of


    her.


    The images were stunning–her poses sharp yet effortless, her expressionsyered enough to draw the eye and hold it.


    Everyone seemed pleased. The head of the shoot was pping her on the shoulder<b>, </b>Celeste was giving her a wink of approval, and Damon… Damon was sitting far too close.


    He lingered just beside her during the review, his presence heavy, his cologne unmistakable.


    Every time she shifted, she could feel the heat of his gaze on her skin. It made her stomach churn, and not in the way it used to when they were younger and her feelings for him were na?ve and uplicated.


    Now, it was just a dull ache of difort.


    He didn’t speak at first, only leaned slightly toward the monitor, his cologne curling in the air between them.


    “You’ve changed,” he murmured under his breath, low enough for only her to hear. “Notpletely… but I can still see the girl I knew.”


    Nivera straightened, ignoring the twisting sensation in her stomach. She didn’t want to be here with him–didn’t want to breathe the same air, didn’t want to feel the heat of his stare burning into her skin.


    When the photographer finally dismissed them with a cheerful, “Great work today, everyone!” She was on her feet before anyone else, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and grabbing her phone.


    She didn’t even look back at Damon, as she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of thinking she was affected by his presence–though,


    truthfully, she was.


    But of course, Damon didn’t let her go so easily.


    “Nivera,” his voice followed her, low but sharp, cutting through the fading hum of activity.


    Her steps quickened, and the sound of his shoes on the studio floor followed.


    She was halfway to her changing when a figure moved into her path<b>, </b>swift and deliberate. The space between her and Damon was blocked in


    an instant <i>by </i>a man.


    The man who now stood in front of Damon carried himself with that unshakeable air of dominance she knew all too well. His dark suit fit him


    like it had been stitched onto him, the crisp lines sharp against his broad shoulders.


    The kind of presence that made people step aside without realizing why.


    He didn’t touch Nivera–didn’t need to–but the air shifted instantly, a wall of quiet authority settling around her.


    “Going somewhere?” Alejandro’s voice was calm, but there was steel underneath. His eyes flicked to Damon, assessing and cold.


    Nivera froze, her pulse leaping. She turned when she heard Alejandro’s voice, an odd mixture of relief and dread twisting in her chest<b>. </b>The


    two men’s gazes locked, and in that moment, the room seemed to lose its background noise.


    Her eyes snapped up to him, a small spark of disbelief lighting in her chest at his sudden appearance.


    “Alejandro?” she said softly, just loud enough for him to hear.


    He didn’t nce at her–not yet. His focus was fixed entirely on Damon. And the way he said the man’s name carried a weight that made the air between them grow taut.


    “Damon Castillo.“.


    The corners of Damon’s mouth twitched, but there was no warmth in it. If anything, the expression wasced with something close to challenge.


    “Alejandro.” His voice was t. “Didn’t know you had an interest in fashion shoots.”


    Alejandro’s gaze didn’t waver. “I don’t.” His hand slipped into his pocket, his stance loose but undeniably threatening.


    “But I do have an interest in whatever my woman does.”


    The exchange was curt, their tones as t as steel.


    “You’re a long way from home,” Alejandro then continued, his voice smooth but edged. “Or are you just in the habit of showing up where you’re not wanted?”


    Damon’s jaw tightened. “I could say the same for you. But then again, from what I hear, you’ve made a career out of inserting yourself into other people’s affairs.”


    Alejandro’s lips curved in the faintest shadow of a smirk – the kind that wasn’t amused at all. “Only when those affairs involve people I


    consider mine”


    The meaning in those words wasn’t lost on anyone. Least of all Damon.


    Nivera’s breath caught as she continued to watch the showdown.


    Damon’s expression darkened, the faintest hint of a scoff escaping him. “Yours?” His tone dripped with mockery. “Careful, Alejandro. People might think you’re getting… possessive. Or worse – desperate.”


    Alejandro’s lips curved into the kind of smile that was more dangerous than any scowl. “Possessive?”


    He leaned in just slightly, his voice low but carrying enough for Nivera to hear every syble. “No. I’m protective. There’s a difference–one you clearly never learnt.”


    The air between them thickened, tension winding so tightly that Nivera could feel it pressing against her skin.


    Damon’s shoulders squared, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t need to learn anything. She was supposed to be mine, Alejandro. That was the


    agreement long before you came along. You… disrupted something that should have been simple.”


    Alejandro’s smirk deepened, though his eyes stayed cold. “I’m sure you’ll find I have a habit of disrupting things that shouldn’t have existed. in the first ce.”


    Damon’s eyes flicked briefly to her before locking back on Alejandro. “She’s not yours, Alejandro. She never was.”


    Alejandro tilted his head slightly, his gaze unwavering. “Yet here you are chasing her like she’s something you lost. I’d call that desperation<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    A muscle twitched in Damon’s temple. “You think you’ve got her under your thumb now, but she’s not someone you can keep.”


    “That’s the thing about me,” Alejandro replied, voice quiet but lethal. “I don’t keep. I take.”


    Damon’s voice dropped lower, darker. “This isn’t over. She’ll realize sooner orter that you’re not who she thinks you are.”


    ALZ


    Alejandro didn’t blink. “And when she does, she’ll also remember why she didn’t choose you.”


    The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut.


    Nivera’s heart thudded in her chest, her gaze bouncing between them.


    Damon gave a short, humourlessugh. “You’re not half as untouchable as you think.”


    “And you,” Alejandro said, stepping forward just enough to close the gap, “are not half as relevant as you think<i>. </i>Walk away, Damon. Before you start something you can’t finish.”


    For a moment, it looked like Damon might push it further – his shoulders squared, his chin lifted. But then his eyes slid to Nivera again, lingering in a way that felt like a silent promise, before he stepped back.


    “This isn’t over,” Damon said, his tone deliberate.


    “It is for today,” Alejandro replied.


    Damon gave him onest cutting look, then turned and walked away without another word.


    Only when Damon was out of sight did Alejandro’s gaze shift to Nivera. His expression softened just enough to be noticeable, but the tension in his shoulders didn’t ease.


    “I should have woken up earlier, so I would have been with you from the start.” He clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    AD