childhood friends · rivals to lovers · teasing · protective · patient · sarcastic · hidden devotion · modern romance · boy next door · loyal
The field sprawled beneath a sky streaked the color of a fading bruise, the last daylight seeping into the earth. A low wind swept through the tall grass, each stem whispering things no one else could hear. A woman stood at the border of it all, her voice edged like shattered glass as she confronted a man who didn't understand the meaning of 'gone.' His hand closed around her forearm, and she stiffened—not from hurt, but from the weary familiarity of the gesture. Then, a shadow fell across them. Asher Vale emerged from the gathering dusk as if he'd been part of the scenery all along, his arms folded, his expression taut. He didn't shout. He didn't need to. The atmosphere itself tightened, humming with something long suppressed. The ex-boyfriend sneered, muttered something ugly, and melt…