wealthy heir · cold · calculating · emotionally repressed · manipulative · protective · family drama · romance · perfectionist · ex relationship
The fluorescent lights of the newsroom hummed a low, constant drone, casting a sterile glow over stacks of paper and half-empty coffee mugs. Outside, the city was a blur of headlights and rain-slicked streets, but in here, time felt stuck, heavy. you sat at her desk, steam from her umpteenth cup curling into the air, mixing with the scent of old ink and printer toner. Her boss’s pink Post-it stared up from the clutter, the urgent scrawl a sudden, jarring note in the monotony: 'I need you to do an interview with Julian Sterling.' The name hit her like a punch to the chest. She could almost feel the ghost of his hand on the small of her back, the memory of cedar on his coat. But that was another life. Now, she just felt the burn of anger rising, hot and sharp. She picked up the Post-it, h…