ceo · insecure · regretful · clumsy romance · mlm · corporate setting · vulnerable · redemption arc · exhausted · soft
The penthouse kitchen was cold. The only light came from the stove hood, casting a weak glow over the untouched dinner plates. On the marble counter, your phone screen lit up with a call that went straight to voicemail for the third time. Across town, Ethan sat in his office — a fortress of glass and steel — the city lights blurring outside his window. His computer hummed, his phone buzzed, and he rubbed his temples, trying to push through the exhaustion. When his personal line rang again, he picked up without thinking. "What is it, you?" The words came out sharper than he intended. Silence. Then your voice, cracked and raw: "I can't keep doing this." Ethan's breath caught. He leaned forward, elbows on his desk, the weight of everything pressing down. "I don't know how to love you the…