Zephyr walked into the offices of Tanashi Corp. with a completely different feeling than on his first day.

Then, he'd been excited, hopeful. It had been a brand new start, one he'd been desperate for. But it hadn't exactly turned out how he hoped. He'd taken a few wrong steps.

But he knew how to fix that now. First step, sneak attack. He'd see how his grandfather liked it. He didn't even bother knocking on the office door. No, he walked right in. After all he knew they'd both be there.

Hiro looked up, confused, but Hokuto didn't seem the least bit surprised.

His father stood. “Zephyr. We're not scheduled to meet until—”

Zephyr cut him off. "This won't take long.”

His grandfather sat back and clasped his hands, leveling a gaze on him. "What seems to be the problem? You wanted my attention. You now have my full attention. Are you done with your temper tantrum now? Ready to get back to work or will there be more disruptions with your supposed family or girlfriend?”

Zephyr shook his head. "The sad thing is you have no idea what these dynamics even look like. I've spent the last nine months arguing with two people who wanted to do nothing but punish me.”

“I have made you thrive.” Hokuto's voice was stern. “But what else now?”

“Zephyr, maybe it's best if—”

Zephyr cut Hiro off. “No. No suggestions from you. You may not be the prick he is, but you are complicit in his behavior.”

His grandfather frowned. "Is this about the girl?”

Zephyr nodded. "Yep. But more than that. You’ve done things that go way beyond manipulation.” He turned to his father. “And you've let him. I know for a fact that Malia didn't take any money from you.”

Hiro turned to stare at his father. “You paid her? Like you did Brenda?”

The older man frowned. "Yes. I paid her.”

Zephyr laughed. "No, he didn't. I'm the idiot that believed him. You know as well as I do he won't spend money on anything. He ripped me a new one over the Harrisburg trip for the expenses.” He turned back to Horuto. “There’s no way you paid Malia and her sister hundreds of thousands of dollars just to bring me into the fold. You wouldn't even pay my mother to help keep me fed, and there were times we were starving.”

Hiro glared at his father. “You made a promise that if I stayed you would look after her. You gave me your word! How could you keep this from me.”

The old man tossed his hands up. “This weakness in him, he had to have gotten it from you. His mother was strong. She survived without a dime. And you, you've been living off this family, whining about a woman you lost. If you loved her so much, you should have walked away with her. Been with that family you craved so much. But no. You were weak. You wanted comfort.”

“You spiteful, bitter old man. You are hell-bent on blaming the world because my mother left you. I stayed because I had nothing to offer Brenda and you would have stopped me from working! I loved her!”

The old man's laugh was harsh. “Apparently not enough.” He turned his attention to Zephyr. “You're just as weak as your father. No. I didn't pay her. It was a happy surprise that there is already an account in her name with a sizable sum. She just signed on the dotted line that she wouldn't pursue a relationship with you. I had her signature forged.”

Zephyr nodded. “I realized that when she came to see me. She really had no idea she had that account in her name. Her aunt never told her. So I have to thank you for that. I'm pretty sure she'll be ecstatic to hear.”

Hiro shook his head. “This is enough. You saw how well your interference worked last time. Stop it now.”

“Left to you, he would have been weak. But look how strong he is. Adversity gave him character.”

Zephyr stared at his grandfather. “There was a time when I would have done anything to be part of this. Not anymore.”

The old man shook his head. ”Your career will be over.”

"The best part about this is my ideas are good. I'm smart, and I can find a job. You can do your worst, old man, but you're not the only family I have. I quit.”

Hokuto's face went red. “For what? For love?”

“Yes. I don't deserve her. We crossed boundaries. But she's my heart. My true family."

His father's voice was soft. "You would give up the world for her?"

Zephyr smiled. "Haven't I already?" He turned to leave and then stopped.

"One more thing. If you ever threaten Malia's well-being again, you will deal with me and everyone will know what you've done. Who I am. I will rain shit on you the likes of which you've never seen before.”

His father met his gaze. “She must be one hell of a woman.”

"You have no idea." All he had to do was beg her to take him back.

* * *

Zephyr didn’t have to look too hard to find Malia. For the time being, she was staying at Emily’s.

When Emily opened the door, her face lit up, then fell. “Uh, you know what? I’m going to study at Mac’s.”

From somewhere inside, Malia called out, “What? But I thought you wanted to do the whole shut in with chocolate—” Emily pulled the door open wider, and Malia shut up.

When Emily made herself scarce, Zephyr watched Malia. “You okay?”

“Surprised you care.”

Well, he’d expected this. He just needed to get her to listen. “About what happened when you came to New York …”

“You mean when I came and bared my soul and you told me to get out?”

Fuck. “Yeah. Look, there was a reason for that.”

“Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it.”

“Please, Malia.”

“Do you understand I got on a plane for you? I stood in front of you and I apologized. And fair enough, I couldn’t demand that you take me back, but you barely even listened to me. And then you kicked me out. So sorry if I don’t think we have much to discuss.”

“Listen, I was so worried that they were still watching you. That’s why I sent you away. I didn’t know what kind of deal you’d made with him or what the terms were, but I knew that they had done something. They’d interfered.”

Malia shook her head. “Look, it doesn’t matter. So what if they did interfere? It still doesn’t mean we can be together, because at the end of the day, you still work there. Even if I do become the Tanashi scholar, which is very unlikely considering what I told Hiro Tanashi he could do with his scholarship, I don’t think I can—”

She shook her head.

“You can’t do what?” He pinned her with a direct gaze.

“I don’t think I can see you every day.”

“That doesn’t sound like someone who doesn’t love me.”

“If you believe for even a second that I didn’t love you, then you didn’t know me at all. I just did what I thought was best.”

“And I’m telling you now that none of that matters. There’s something else you should know.”

“Zephyr, what? There’s nothing more we can say to each other. We’ve done enough damage.”

“You can say that now. But I’m not giving up on you. From the moment I saw you, I knew. I knew there would be no getting you out of my system. You made it past my defenses with a single laugh. I knew I was done. If you don’t want to be with me, that’s fine, but at least let me tell you this.” He pulled out the papers he’d been carrying with him since Hokuto had given them to him. “These are bank statements in your name.“

“Zephyr, what the hell is this?”

“Listen just for a minute, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Something didn’t add up. Hokuto told me that he’d given you money to make you leave. Given you money, promised you the scholarship, and you took it.”

“I didn’t take his money or the stupid scholarship. He told me they were going to give it to me, and I said I didn’t want it.”

“I believe you.” He pushed the papers into her hands. “Look at it. Look at the amount of money.”

“I see it. That’s $200,000. You think if I had $200,000, I’d be working this hard?”

He grinned. “Exactly.”

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

He sighed. “Look, Hokuto Tanashi is seriously money conscious. Remember when we went to Harrisburg and he chewed me out because I’d had the nerve to get everyone separate hotel rooms instead of padding us all into one grand suite?”

She nodded. “Yeah?”

“Well, that’s how he is. He wouldn’t just spend money haphazardly. Even if it would get him what he wanted.”

She frowned.

Zephyr smiled at her. “This sum of money seems like overkill, especially since I know for a fact when my parents adopted me he didn’t give them a dime. I didn’t think of it at the time when my dad told me. But when I saw you, I understood. He hadn’t given you any money to walk away from me. They probably had you investigated, and for that I’m sorry. And they maybe found some accounts with your name on them with money in them. But they didn’t give the money to you. You didn’t take money to leave me.”

“Well, I could have told you that. But whoever this Malia Adams is, she’s rich. I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. That’s your account, Malia. That’s your money.”

“Then why don’t I have it?” She tossed her hands up. “Zephyr, look around you. This is it. You’ve helped me with Eva so much. But I still have to work my ass off so I can hopefully afford an apartment of my own.”

His brows snapped down. He wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to. That she could’ve just stayed with him. But he knew better by now. “Just listen. Something your aunt said back in Philly always bothered me. She said something along the lines of they’d given everything to you and left nothing for her. And when you said that your parents left you the house, I thought maybe it made sense. But then it occurred to me when you said your grandparents had also passed. I think your grandparents left you money in an account. I think this is the account.”

She frowned. “But I don’t know anything about this account.”

He shook his head. “I had my dad look into it. He had his investigators digging around. You probably didn’t know about it because your aunt never told you. There’s an account for you and one for Eva. Your parents were the trustees and in the event of your parents’ death, the trustee became your aunt until you reach the age of twenty-one.”

She frowned. “Wait, they left me money?”

He nodded. “I didn’t have all the pieces. I didn’t see them. You were too young when your grandparents died for you to know anything about it. Your parents would have just taken care of the account for you. And it looks like they did.” He pulled out another stack of papers. “I had my dad look into Eva as well. She’s got the same amount. Between the two of you, you’re two very rich girls.”

Her hands trembled and she stared at the paper. The bank statement. “I don’t—”

“The best my dad could work out, your aunt probably thought she could find a way to access it. She needed both your signature and her signature to access any of the funds in it. So that was difficult with you living in Pittsburgh. I figured, maybe the next time you go home, she’s going to try and get you to sign something.”

Malia frowned. “She did say at the beginning of the year that there were some papers that I needed to sign for Eva so my aunt could keep watching her. She said there were some government papers.”

He nodded. “Maybe that was it. All she needed was your signature and she could access the funds herself. It’s probably why she was so bitter. It’s also probably why she treated you and Eva like she did. Your parents left you the house. Your grandparents left you money. She was left with nothing.

“Granted, having met her just once, I can see why. But you don’t have to keep doing this. You can make all the decisions and choices you desire because you want to make them, not because someone is forcing you, or because you have no other choice. This—” He pointed to the paper in her hands, “—this is your freedom. Forget the Tanashi scholarship. If you get it, it’s because you deserve it. Not because you and I—” He looked down at his hands. “It’s not because you were sleeping with me. It’s because you were outstanding. You leaving me has nothing to do with it. It’s because you were good. I just, I just wanted you to know.”

The tears flowed down her face as she stared at the paper. “I had no idea. I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t know. And it wasn’t in your aunt’s best interest to tell you either. She was making you pay for your grandparents leaving her out of their will. Or maybe they didn’t. I don’t know. Maybe she went through all her money. I have no idea. That’s speculation. But she wanted to punish you, which is why she made you work yourself to the bone. All that stops now. You can do whatever you want.”

She opened her mouth then snapped it shut. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to make sure that you knew your family loved you a lot and that you don’t have to keep doing this to yourself. I love you. I didn’t mean to hurt you when you came to see me. I fucked up.

“I just finally understood the lengths to which my grandfather would go. And I didn’t want you caught up in that. I’m so horrified that you were followed and some guy was taking pictures of you and you were almost hurt because of me, because of them. I never wanted that. I just wanted to love you.”

The words tore out of him. And he had no idea what to do or say. He felt like one raw, open wound. But then what did he expect? His life was in complete shambles right now. And he was practically begging the woman that he loved to take him back. But even if she didn’t, he knew she’d be okay, because just like she tried to tell him in the beginning, she didn’t need his help. She was the kind of woman to stand on her own two feet. And he was happy she’d been in his life as long as she had. He pushed himself to his feet. “My dad suggests that you call that bank in the morning. I mean, sit down in a meeting with them. If you think you need a lawyer or someone to back you up, he said he’d do it for you pro bono. I think these guys are located in Philly.”

She kept staring at the paper. And his heart broke. He’d prayed that maybe he’d bring her this, he’d tell her why he pushed her away and she’d run into his arms. Because you’re an idiot. But that wasn’t exactly how things went down. This was not a romantic comedy. They weren’t just going to laugh and everything would be over. He never should have come to Pittsburgh in the first place.

As he put his hand on the door to let himself out, she called out to him. “Zephyr, I did it for you.”

He frowned. “Did what for me?”

“I walked away for you. Your grandfather threatened to ruin your chances of getting a job anywhere else. He said that if you didn’t come work for them, he was going to make sure that you couldn’t get another job. He said that money and influence were great motivators. That he could manipulate almost anyone into doing what he wished. He certainly managed it with me. I didn’t mean what I said when I said I didn’t love you. When I said what I felt was a result of me being grateful that you’d helped me. I lied.”

She’d looked up and met his gaze, the tears streaming down her face. “I—I didn’t mean any of it. Delilah called and said that you were having a really hard time and I just—I turned up to see you. And then you sent me away. And then I got it. That was a result of your pain. I was the cause of your pain. And I didn’t want to do that to you. Not after everything you’ve done for me.”

“Malia, do you love me?”

“Truth or lie?” she asked.

Zephyr nodded. “Truth. I love you. And I want to be with you no matter the consequences. I said that before and I meant it.” He swallowed hard. “Truth or lie?” he asked her.

She swallowed hard. “Truth. I love you. I never meant any of those things that I said. They said they were going to ruin you. And they were your family. After everything we’ve talked about, I knew how important that was to you. I just—”

She began sobbing in earnest. And Zephyr went to her, kneeling down in front of her.

He tugged her into his arms and he held her. “I love you and you love me. I am never letting you go, so you’re just going to have to get used to it. You will forever have someone who’s looking out for you as long as you want me.”

She lifted her head and nodded. “I want you.”

His heart squeezed as he held her tight. “Good, because you’re stuck with me now. So how are you coming along with a place to live, because I told my father and grandfather they could shove it. I have three days to vacate my apartment.”

She grinned. “Are you sure you’re not trying to get with me just for a place to stay?”

He chuckled. “Well, that, and your boobs are incredible. I figured those two reasons alone are enough.”

Malia laughed in his arms. “Well, you’re not wrong about the boobs.”

He held her tight. And with every kiss he placed on her temple, on her forehead, and on her cheeks, she told herself silently that he was never, ever leaving her.