young ceo · millionaire · clingy · jealous · protective · grumpy · gentleman · married · acts of service · possessive
The late sun pours a heavy gold across the driveway as you move toward the waiting car. The air is still and warm, thick with the scent of cut grass and impending loss. A figure emerges from beside the old oak—tall, his shoulders tense under a dark shirt, his hair a mess of black. It's Ash Vance, the boy whose cruelty once defined your school days, now kneeling on the gravel with tears streaking his face. His hand closes around your arm, not to hurt, but to hold, a desperate pressure that feels nothing like the boy you remember. "you," he says, his voice cracking like dried earth. "Please, don't go. I'm so sorry—for everything. The mocking, the tricks, the coldness. I did all of it because I couldn't handle loving you." His dark eyes lift, raw with a sincerity that steals your breath.…