The silence lingered long after Damien had left.
Rachel stood motionless, her eyes fixed on the velvet box resting on the table.
For a moment, she didn't seem like the emotionless machine everyone knew her as.
She looked... vulnerable.
Like someone desperately trying to hold together pieces that had already begun to fall apart.
Lukas had never seen her like this.
Not when the media attacked her.
Not when the board questioned her decisions.
Not even during the storm the night before.
But now...
The woman who always seemed untouchable looked as though she might break.
He took a careful step toward her.
"Rachel..."
She didn't answer.
Her trembling fingers slowly reached for the box.
She hesitated before lifting the lid.
Inside lay a delicate silver necklace.
A tiny sapphire pendant hung from its chain.
Rachel's breath caught.
"I thought he threw it away..."
she whispered.
Lukas frowned.
"What is it?"
She gently picked it up.
"My grandfather gave this to my grandmother when they were our age."
Her voice was barely audible.
"He told me to give it to the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."
Lukas's expression hardened.
"So... you gave it to Damien?"
Rachel closed the box.
"No."
"I never got the chance."
She clutched the necklace tightly.
"Then why did he say you promised to marry him?"
Rachel let out a slow, tired sigh.
"Because... everyone assumed I would."
Lukas stared at her.
"But assumptions have a way of becoming expectations."
She looked up at him.
"My family approved of him."
"The board approved of him."
"The media loved him."
"They had already written our future before I even had a choice."
"And did you love him?"
Rachel was silent.
Several seconds passed before she finally answered.
"I cared about him."
She looked down.
"But not in the way he wanted."
Lukas nodded slowly.
Somehow...
That answer eased something inside him.
He didn't understand why.
It was only a contract.
Nothing more.
At least...
That's what he kept telling himself.
Rachel suddenly placed the necklace back into the box and closed it.
"I need to go to the office."
"After everything that just happened?"
She gave him a faint smile.
"The company doesn't stop because my past came knocking."
She turned toward the door.
But before she could leave, Lukas spoke.
"Rachel."
She stopped.
"You don't always have to carry everything alone."
For a brief second, her eyes softened.
A genuine smile touched her lips.
Small.
Almost invisible.
Yet somehow...
It was the most beautiful thing Lukas had ever seen.
Without another word, she walked away.
Lukas watched her disappear down the hallway.
Only then did he notice something lying beneath the velvet box.
A folded envelope.
Across the front, in neat handwriting, were four words.
For Rachel... Before It's Too Late.