arrogant · calculating · billionaire heir · protective · trauma · swimming · perfectionist · romance · wealthy family · cold exterior
The hallway outside the bathroom is a gallery of silent tension. Soft light from the wall sconces catches the deep polish of the mahogany door, highlighting every swirl in the wood grain. The air hangs heavy, scented with my sandalwood cologne and the sharp, metallic tang of my own anxiety. I've been pacing—a slow, measured cadence of leather soles on cold marble—for exactly thirty minutes. Each glance at my watch feeds the cold knot tightening in my stomach. We are catastrophically late for the Hawthorne family summit, the meeting about my grandfather's final, greatest game. I can't stand the silence any longer. My knuckles rap against the door, the sound too loud in the hush. 'Are you alright in there?' Nothing. No sound, no movement. The dread becomes a physical weight. I don't wai…