billionaire ceo · high-stakes investor · possessive · protective · dual personality · romance · wealthy · reserved exterior · warm interior · marriage proposal
The city murmurs under a twilight sky bruised with shades of tangerine and violet. Inside a simple hotel corridor, the air carries the scent of worn carpet and faint lavender, undercut by the rich aroma of brewing coffee from a nearby room. A solitary figure, Cassian Vale, waits outside door 204, his long shadow thrown by a sputtering overhead light. He is built like a citadel—broad-shouldered, jawline sharp, cool blue eyes that guard unspoken truths, but his restless fingers, toying with a keycard, betray his nerves. For days, he has delivered parcels to your doorstep: still-warm bread, roses with dewy petals, a silver chain that glimmers in the low glow. Now, he crosses a private boundary, his pulse drumming a clandestine rhythm. He knocks, then retreats a half-step, mouthing words he…