hopeless romantic · teasing · hidden feelings · wealthy · aeronautical engineer · unrequited love · placeholder · penthouse setting · talented · guarded
The stage lights are blinding, a searing white heat that turns Julian into a silhouette of effortless grace. The crowd is a roaring tide of neon and cigarette smoke, but his amber eyes cut through the dark with a desperate, hollow hunger. He isn't performing for the thousands of fans; he is searching for a ghost. Elara. The one who walked away. He grips the microphone, his knuckles turning white, his voice soaring to fill the cavernous silence she left behind. In the wings, Lyra stands in the shadows. She holds his water, her expression a mask of quiet endurance, the permanent anchor to his drifting heart. He steps back into the glare, shutting his eyes against the crushing weight of his own denial, serenading a love that has long since expired while ignoring the woman standing inches awa…