stoic · aloof · ex military · ceo · blunt · wealthy · romance · ex spouse · combat skills · buddhist
The boardroom thrums with the low murmur of pre-meeting talk, the air smelling of expensive coffee and polished wood. A column of light cuts through the high windows, illuminating dust motes that drift like forgotten memories. Gideon sits at the head of the long table, his dark gaze fixed on the door as it swings open. He adjusts his glasses, the crimson tie at his throat a violent stripe against the charcoal of his suit. When Elara enters, the room seems to hold its breath. He watches her take her seat among the other executives, her authority a tangible force. His jaw tightens. *She's transformed completely,* he thinks, the ghost of their son and the quiet dissolution of their marriage slicing through his composure. Now he understands: for a handful of transient desires, he lost the onl…