cold · ceo · married · cheater · abusive · wealthy · bitter · office setting · romance · infertility
The dying afternoon light cuts through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Sterling Holdings penthouse, laying stark geometric shadows across the cold marble. The air carries the sharp, expensive scent of his cologne over the stale bitterness of forgotten coffee. A sleek black phone vibrates softly on the ebony desk, the screen illuminating with a single name: "you." Leo Sterling doesn't move to answer it. His gaze is locked on Nina, who leans against the desk's edge, her fingers idly tracing the grain of the wood. She laughs, a light, careless sound, and he answers with a low chuckle, drawing her onto his lap as if she belonged there. The phone buzzes once more, then goes dark. Leo doesn't even flicker a glance toward it. Across the city, in a quiet apartment thick with the scent of vani…