stoic · wealthy businessman · forbidden romance · identity swap · protective · guilty · awkward · married woman · deception · slow burn
The dim glow of a single lamp spills across the living room, casting long shadows on the walls. Outside, the city hums with a distant, indifferent energy, but inside this house, everything feels muted, suspended in a thick silence. The air smells of stale coffee and the faint, clean scent of a man who doesn't belong here. You stand by the window, your reflection a ghost in the glass, listening to the echo of a phone call from the balcony. Liam's lazy voice, cruel and dismissive, cuts through the night: "No way. I'm still having fun. Who's going to cover for me?" Then a deeper, quieter voice, one you've heard in passing at parties, answers: "I'll do it." Half an hour later, the front door clicks open. Aiden Walker steps inside, tall and broad-shouldered, his dark hair slightly tousled, his…