Chapter 2 - Rules

📘 CHAPTER 2 — Alexandre's POV

(The CEO Who Shouldn't Love Me)

There were rules I lived by.

Rules that made me ruthless.

Rules that made me successful.

Rules that kept me alive in an industry where one mistake could destroy everything my family built.

Rule Number One: Never get attached.

Rule Number Two: Never let emotions interfere with decisions.

Rule Number Three: Employees are employees. Never more.

But the moment Catty stepped into my life, all three rules cracked like thin glass.

And tonight… they finally shattered.

---

The rain hit me before the rooftop door fully opened, soaking my clothes instantly. I didn't care. All I saw was her—standing at the edge like a small, shaking silhouette against a broken sky.

Catty.

She wasn't supposed to hear me earlier. I had been frustrated, not with her, but with myself. With how much she affected me. With how the board kept noticing that I looked at her too long. With how she made my pulse skip like I was a boy again instead of the CEO of Knight Enterprises.

But she heard.

And she misunderstood.

She thought I meant it literally—that I wanted her gone.

And now she was out here… resigning.

She held out the letter with trembling fingers. I knew what fear looked like. I knew what heartbreak looked like. And what I saw in her eyes was both.

"I'm resigning," she whispered.

Something inside me snapped—violently.

I didn't even recognize the emotion at first. Panic wasn't familiar to me. Panic was not something CEOs were allowed to feel.

But watching her tremble in the rain with a resignation letter…

Yes. It was panic.

I approached her without thinking—three long strides, my heart slamming against my ribs like it wanted to break out.

"You're quitting because of what you heard?" I asked.

She nodded, and everything inside me twisted.

My voice dropped, rougher than I intended. "I never meant it that way."

Her eyes flickered up, confused.

I took the letter, stared at her handwriting—delicate, neat, and painfully final.

No.

No, I couldn't accept this.

I couldn't let her leave like this.

I tore the letter.

Then again.

Then again.

Part of me expected her to fight me, shout, accuse.

But she didn't.

She just looked… hurt. And that hurt me more than the storm ever could.

"Alex—"

"Don't say my name like that," I whispered before I could stop myself.

Her voice saying my name did something to me. Something dangerous. Something addictive.

I moved closer without permission—from myself or from her. So close I could feel the warmth of her breath through the cold rain.

"You don't get to leave me," I said quietly.

Her eyes widened.

But it was the truth.

I had built walls for years, and she slipped through them without even trying.

"Not now," I said. "Not when I finally…"

The words got stuck in my throat.

I was Alexandre Knight—cold, controlled, feared by my board, respected by the world. Yet here I was, unable to say one simple sentence.

Catty saved me from drowning in silence.

"Why?"

Such a small question.

But my answer was a storm of its own.

"Because I think I'm already falling for you."

And once the words came out, I couldn't take them back.

---

After the rooftop, I didn't sleep.

Not for a second.

I paced my penthouse like a caged animal, replaying the moment her breath caught when I touched her cheek, the fear in her eyes when I tore the letter, the shock on her lips when I confessed.

I shouldn't have said it.

I shouldn't have let feelings slip.

I shouldn't have let her see that I was weak where she was concerned.

But God… I didn't regret it.

What terrified me was the opposite:

I wanted her to know.

Every hour I spent near her had chipped away at my control.

The way she smiled nervously when she entered my office.

The way she bit her lip when she focused.

The way she smelled like warm vanilla when she walked past.

The way she defended herself in meetings when older executives tried to belittle her.

And the way she looked at me like I wasn't a monster.

She had no idea how deeply she'd slipped under my skin.

Which was exactly why I needed to face reality now.

Confessing was one thing.

Keeping her was another.

If the board found out…

If the shareholders suspected favoritism…

If the media caught even a hint of a scandal…

They wouldn't hesitate.

They would force her resignation.

Destroy her professional image.

And blame her—not me.

That was how the corporate world worked.

It protected the powerful and consumed the innocent.

And Catty…

She was the type the world would try to destroy.

I ran my hands through my dripping hair, stopping in front of the window. The city lights blurred, a storm of gold against the night.

No matter how I tried, I couldn't stop thinking of her face when I confessed.

Shock.

Fear.

Something soft… something hopeful… before she masked it.

Did she feel something too?

Was I imagining the way her breath trembled when I leaned close?

Was I imagining the way she looked back at me as she walked away?

This was dangerous.

But letting her go?

Impossible.

I needed a solution.

A way to protect her.

A way to keep her close without destroying her career.

I grabbed my phone and dialed someone I never thought I'd involve in my private matters.

"Knight?"

A groggy voice answered. My lawyer.

"Find a legal loophole," I said. "Anything that allows me to keep my assistant without risking a company scandal."

There was silence.

"…Is this about the girl the board keeps whispering about?"

My hand tightened around the phone.

"Yes."

Another pause. Then:

"You're in trouble, Knight. And I don't mean legal trouble."

"I know."

"Is she worth it?"

I closed my eyes.

Her face filled my mind—wet eyelashes, trembling lips, the way she whispered my name on that rooftop as if it meant something.

"Yes," I said without hesitation.

Because she was.

---

At 6 a.m., I arrived at the office earlier than usual. I wasn't expecting her—she normally came at 8.

But the moment the elevator doors opened, I froze.

She was there.

Catty.

Sitting at her desk.

Head bowed.

Hands clasped tightly as if she'd been waiting for me.

Her clothes were dry but her eyes were tired, red at the edges like she hadn't slept either.

I stepped out quietly, but she heard.

She always sensed me before seeing me.

Another dangerous sign.

She stood quickly. "Good morning, sir."

Sir.

Cold.

Professional.

Distant.

It hurt more than I expected.

I walked toward her slowly, eyes never leaving hers.

"We need to talk," I said softly.

She swallowed. "About the rooftop?"

"About everything."

She lowered her gaze. "I shouldn't have been there. And I shouldn't have heard what I heard."

"You should have," I said firmly.

Her eyes lifted—surprised.

"You should know exactly what you mean to me."

Her breath hitched.

But before I could say more, she whispered:

"Then tell me… what happens now, Alexandre?"

Her voice cracked on my name.

And my world shifted again.

What happens now?

I didn't have the perfect answer yet.

But I knew one thing with certainty:

"I'm not letting you walk away from me," I said, my voice low and unshakable.

"Not today.

Not ever."

The way she stared at me—caught between fear and longing—made one thing painfully clear:

This was only the beginning.

And I intended to fight for her.

Even if the whole world stood against us.