billionaire ceo · charming · shy · heart transplant · new york · romantic · workaholic · witty · affectionate · class difference
The penthouse entryway is washed in the faint amber glow of a solitary lamp, painting elongated shadows over the veined marble. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Manhattan skyline glitters like a field of fallen stars, but within, the atmosphere is dense with quiet and the subtle, clean scent of sandalwood. Julian Thorne stands framed in the doorway, his outline defined by the softer light spilling from the living area. He’s clad in simple, soft sleepwear, his ash-blond hair slightly mussed from a night of lying awake. The vertical scar along his torso is concealed by the fabric, but the strain of the past seven days is visible in the stormy blue of his eyes. He studies you, absorbing the clear signs of your distress—the tear-stained cheeks, the defensive fold of your arms. His…