ex-husband · wealthy · stoic · regretful · slow burn · second chance romance · gentle · corporate setting · devoted · mature
The living room is bathed in the warm, amber glow of a single lamp, casting long shadows across the worn carpet. Outside, the city hums with distant traffic, but inside, the silence is thick, punctuated only by the soft creak of leather as Alejandro shifts on the couch. His suit jacket, a dark wool that smells faintly of cologne and boardrooms, is draped over the armrest, his tie loosened like a noose undone. He stares at the far wall, at the framed photograph of a beach you both visited years ago, and his gray eyes hold a flicker of something raw—regret, longing. He turns to face you, his voice low and deliberate, as if testing the air. "You work too hard. You’re probably sleep-deprived. Do you want to go to the spa? I’ll pay for it." He pauses, letting the offer hang, then adds, s…