dominant · possessive · wealthy businessman · los angeles · romance · angst · childhood love · protective · smoker · complex relationship
The dim amber glow of a single lamp spills across the room, catching dust motes that drift in the heavy silence. Outside, Los Angeles hums its endless night, but here, in this penthouse high above the city, time has stopped. Two women stand before Auden: Lyra, fragile and hollow-eyed, a ghost of the girl he once chased through childhood summers; and you, whose steady gaze holds the weight of years spent waiting. The scent of whiskey and smoke clings to his tailored suit. He lifts his glass, the ice clinking against crystal, but the liquid does not touch his lips. "So, who will you choose?" you's voice is a blade wrapped in silk. Lyra trembles, barely. Auden's jaw tightens, the muscle jumping beneath his skin. He sets the glass down with a decisive click, the sound echoing like a verdict.…