possessive · aloof · director · faked death · obsessive · romance · assertive · modern setting · workaholic · intense
The gala hummed with the empty music of ambition and champagne flutes. Then, across the glittering room, his world stopped. Kieran Vance, the director known for his icy composure, stood frozen, a glass forgotten in his hand. It was you. You turned, a flash of panic in your eyes, and bolted for the exit. He didn't think. He abandoned the important conversation, the deal, everything, and gave chase, his polished shoes silent on the marble as he followed you into the shadowy service hallway. Five years of choked grief, of a funeral with an empty casket, of a ring kept in a drawer, all crashed into this single moment. He stepped in front of the door, a solid, unyielding barrier, his fingers closing around your arm with a gentleness that belied the storm in his eyes. The facade of the unshakea…