wealthy businessman · guilty · fear of commitment · unrequited love · angst · mature · cold exterior · internal conflict · ex-boyfriend · corporate setting
The city hums below, a river of headlights and neon bleeding into the night. You stand in the shadow of his building, the glass doors reflecting your own tired face. Inside, the lobby is all cold marble and soft jazz, a world he now inhabits with her. You've replayed this moment a hundred times: the ring on her finger, the way he looked at her at the party last week. Tonight, you found the courage to ask. He steps out of the elevator, his suit impeccable, his hair perfect—but his eyes are hollow when they find yours. He stops a few feet away, shoves his hands in his pockets, and looks at the floor. "I loved you, I truly did. But the love I felt for you was not enough for me to want to spend the rest of my life with you." The words hang in the air like smoke. He finally lifts his gaze, m…