LAYLA’S POV
"Make a wish," Axel whispered close to my ear.
The room went completely quiet.
I looked at the flickering fla, watching it dance. Then I looked around the room slowly, taking in every face: Helena and her brothers looking better, Tye standing at attention, still guarding the periter even while holding a paper plate.
I saw the Duke smiling at with genuine pride and love, Sarah looking happy just to be included. And Axel, the man who had pulled out of the darkness and built a fortress around without even asking.
I realised with startling clarity that I didn’t need to wish for anything. I had everything I wanted right here in this room.
I blew out the candle.
"Yay!" Jason cheered loudly, pumping his fist.
The next hour flew by in a mix of laughter, sugary snacks, and real warmth. For the first ti in weeks—maybe even months—the worries about Charles and the constant threat from the Huntingtons seed far away, like they belonged to another life.
I felt normal. Human. Happy.
As the sugar rush faded and the Duke began to doze off in his wheelchair, his chin dropping to his chest, Axel caught my eye from across the room. He tilted his head aningfully toward the balcony.
I quietly left the group and followed him out into the cool morning air. Below us, the city was alive with noise and busy traffic, but up here on the balcony, it felt calm and private.
Axel leaned against the railing casually. "So? Did I break the promise?"
"Technically, yes," I said, stepping between his legs and wrapping my arms around his neck. "You definitely made a fuss."
"I made a mory," Axel corrected, his hands settling possessively on my waist. "There’s a difference."
"You did," I admitted, resting my forehead against his and breathing him in. "Thank you, Axel. I genuinely don’t know how you pulled this all off without knowing. I thought I was watching you pretty carefully."
"I’m a man of many talents," he smirked arrogantly.
He leaned down, brushing his lips against mine in a kiss that was slow and tender and sweet. It tasted of coffee and chocolate and promises.
It wasn’t the desperate, adrenaline-fueled passion of our recent dangerous days; it was steady and sure. It was the promise of a future together.
"Happy Birthday, Layla," he whispered against my lips.
Ding Dong...
The sound of the doorbell ca from the front door.
We both froze instantly.
The atmosphere on the balcony shifted in a heartbeat. The warmth evaporated, replaced by cold, creeping tension that made my skin prickle.
Axel pulled back, his hand instinctively guiding me to step behind him.
"Are we expecting anyone else?" I whispered.
"No," Axel said, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Tye didn’t buzz anyone up. The lobby security shouldn’t have let anyone through without explicit clearance from us."
We walked back inside quickly. The laughter in the kitchen had died completely. Tye was already moving toward the door, checking his tablet with rapid swipes, a deep frown creasing his forehead.
"Sensors are clean," Tye muttered. "Lobby security says no one passed the front desk. Whoever this is bypassed the doorman completely."
Helena imdiately ushered her brothers behind the kitchen island protectively. Pennyworth stepped in front of the sleeping Duke’s wheelchair.
Axel moved in front of protectively. "Stay back, Layla."
He walked to the heavy oak door. He didn’t open it imdiately. Instead, he checked the digital peephole carefully.
His entire body went rigid.
"Who is it?" I asked, my heart hamring violently against my ribs. "Axel, is it Charles?"
Axel didn’t answer for a long mont. He looked confused, which was sohow more unsettling than if he had looked angry or afraid.
He unlocked the door slowly and pulled it open, deliberately blocking the entrance with his broad shoulders.
"What are you doing here?" Axel asked in a low and dangerous tone.
"I need to talk to her," a familiar voice replied desperately.
I pushed past Axel’s protective arm to see.
Standing in the hallway, looking completely dishevelled and out of breath, wearing a wrinkled suit with the tie hanging loose and clutching a manila envelope was Daniel.
My ex-fiancé. The man who had shattered my trust long before Axel rebuilt it brick by brick. He looked nothing like the arrogant golden boy who had chard his way into my life years ago. He looked broken, hollowed out.
"You have five seconds to explain how you got past my security before I throw you down the elevator shaft," Axel growled.
Daniel flinched, taking a half-step back, but he didn’t run. He looked past Axel, his watery eyes locking onto mine with a pleading intensity that made my stomach turn.
"I didn’t break in," Daniel stamred, holding his hands up in surrender, the envelope shaking in his grip. "I just disguised myself as a guard. I know I won’t be let in, but I just... I needed to see her."
"That still doesn’t answer the question. Why are you here, Daniel?" I stepped closer to Axel, placing a hand on his arm, not to hold him back, but to remind myself of the difference between the man who stood in front of and the one who stood in the hall.
"I rembered what today was."
He looked down at his shoes in sha.
"I know I’m the last person on earth you want to see," he continued. "And I know I don’t deserve a second of your ti. But I needed to look you in the eye and tell you I’m sorry, Layla. For everything. For the cheating, for the lies, for not seeing what you were worth until it was too late."
Axel didn’t soften. If anything, his posture grew more rigid. "You said your piece. Now get out."
"Wait," Daniel said hurriedly. He extended his hand, offering the envelope across the threshold. "My apology doesn’t change anything. I know that. But this..." He looked at the envelope. "This is my penance."
"What is it?" Axel demanded, not touching it.
"Everything Charles has on you," Daniel whispered. "And everything I have on him. Happy birthday, Layla."
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