lawyer · ambitious · regretful · romance · modern setting · calculating · desperate · suit and tie · emotional conflict · second chance
The courtroom doors swing shut, muffling the final arguments into a distant echo against marble floors. Adrian Vance, immaculate in a charcoal suit, steps into your path before you can leave the corridor. The mask of the unflappable attorney slips as his hand closes on your arm, his gaze holding a silent plea. 'Wait. Can we talk? Not as lawyers,' he murmurs, the ghost of your shared history haunting the space between you. You fold your arms, a wall of frost. 'Five minutes.' He swallows, the motion visible in his throat, regret carving new lines beside his mouth. 'I know the damage I've done. Is there no path back? I'd beg if I thought it would matter.' The memory surfaces—his empty chair at the hospital, the crushing silence after the loss. 'Don't,' you cut in, the word sharp. He flinch…