That night, something shifted in the air between them. The car ride home was quiet, the tension from the encounter with Mayra still lingering in the background. Valentina could feel it in the way Yoongi’s fingers lightly tapped the steering wheel, his jaw clenched in concentration, his mind clearly elsewhere. Normally, when they arrived home after a night out, Yoongi would slip into his role effortlessly, becoming the calm, authoritative Dom that Valentina had grown to know so well. But tonight, things were different.

As they pulled up to the mansion, Yoongi parked the car and sat in silence for a moment, staring out the windshield. Valentina waited, unsure of what to say. She could sense that he was carrying the weight of their earlier confrontation with Mayra, and it was affecting him more deeply than he was letting on.

He sighed heavily, then turned to her, his eyes softened with something she rarely saw in him—vulnerability. “I don’t think I’m in the right headspace for our usual dynamic tonight,” Yoongi said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Valentina blinked, surprised. It wasn’t often that he admitted to needing something different. Yoongi was always in control, always the one calling the shots. But the moment of honesty tugged at something inside her. She didn’t see the powerful CEO or the demanding Dom right now. She saw the man beneath all those layers—the man who had been hurt, betrayed, and who was still dealing with the fallout of that past.

“That’s okay,” Valentina said softly, placing her hand on his. “You don’t have to be anything for me tonight. Let me take care of you.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Valentina wondered if he would push her away, reject the idea of needing care. But slowly, Yoongi nodded, a small sigh escaping his lips. It was a gesture of surrender, and it spoke volumes.

They stepped out of the car and made their way inside. The house was quiet, a calm contrast to the chaos that had unfolded earlier. Valentina followed Yoongi up to his bedroom, and once they were inside, she gently took his jacket from him, hanging it on the back of a chair. He stood in the middle of the room, watching her with a mixture of curiosity and exhaustion, as if unsure of what to do next.

“You don’t have to do anything,” Valentina said, her voice soothing as she walked back to him. “Just let me take care of you.”

Yoongi let out another breath, as if the tension in his shoulders was slowly easing. Valentina reached for his tie, loosening it gently before slipping it off. She undid the buttons of his shirt, her fingers brushing against his skin in a way that wasn’t meant to arouse but to comfort. Yoongi’s eyes fluttered shut, and for the first time since the party, he seemed to relax.

Once his shirt was off, Valentina guided him to sit on the edge of the bed. She knelt down in front of him, undoing his shoes and carefully slipping them off, followed by his socks. The small, intimate actions felt grounding, and Yoongi seemed to appreciate the care she was showing him.

“Lie back,” Valentina said softly, motioning toward the bed.

He complied without question, stretching out on the mattress, his arms resting by his sides as he stared up at the ceiling. Valentina could tell he was still carrying some of the emotional weight from the evening, so she decided to help him release that tension in the simplest way she knew how.

She left the room briefly, returning with a bottle of lavender-scented massage oil and a warm towel. Yoongi watched her with quiet curiosity as she sat beside him on the bed, pouring a small amount of oil into her hands before rubbing them together to warm it up. She placed the towel over his chest, then gently began massaging his shoulders, working out the knots of tension that had built up throughout the day.

As her hands moved over his muscles, Yoongi let out a soft sigh, his body sinking deeper into the mattress. Valentina worked in silence, her touch firm yet gentle, focusing on the places where he held the most stress. She could feel the way his body gradually relaxed under her care, the tension melting away as she continued.

“Thank you,” Yoongi murmured after a while, his voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t realize how much I needed this.”

Valentina smiled softly, continuing her gentle massage. “You don’t always have to be the one in control,” she said, her tone light but sincere. “It’s okay to let go sometimes.”

Yoongi’s eyes opened slightly, and he turned his head to look at her. There was something in his gaze, a quiet gratitude that he didn’t often express verbally. Valentina didn’t need him to say anything, though. She understood.

After a while, she moved down to his legs, massaging his calves and feet with the same care she had given his upper body. Yoongi’s breathing grew deeper, more relaxed, and Valentina could tell he was close to drifting off. She finished the massage with a light touch, smoothing the towel over his body to wipe away any excess oil.

When she was done, she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “Get some rest,” she whispered.

Yoongi reached out and caught her hand, tugging her gently toward him. “Stay,” he said softly, his voice carrying a vulnerability that he rarely showed.

Valentina nodded, slipping under the covers beside him. She curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her. It was a different kind of intimacy than what they usually shared—this wasn’t about dominance or submission, control or power. This was about being there for each other, about offering comfort and care in a way that transcended their usual roles.

As they lay together in the quiet of the room, Yoongi’s breathing grew slow and steady, and Valentina could tell he had finally fallen asleep. She stayed awake a little longer, listening to the soft rhythm of his breathing, feeling the rise and fall of his chest beneath her cheek.

In that moment, she realized how much he trusted her. Not just as his submissive, but as someone he could be vulnerable with, someone he could lean on when things became too much. And that trust meant everything to her.

Eventually, Valentina closed her eyes, letting herself drift off into sleep, knowing that tomorrow would bring its own challenges. But for tonight, this was enough—just being there for each other, just being together.

And in the silence of the night, with Yoongi holding her close, Valentina felt a sense of peace she hadn’t expected.