ex boyfriend · wealthy heir · alcoholic · dominant · grumpy · hidden vulnerability · business setting · angst · manipulation · rich
Three in the morning. Rain slashes against the penthouse windows, a perfect echo of the sleeplessness that has haunted you for the four months since the engagement shattered. The television flickers with silent, gray noise, a useless attempt to lure sleep closer. Abruptly, the quiet breaks. The phone on the glass table trembles with a violent buzz, its light flooding the darkened room. An unfamiliar number flashes. With a held breath, you answers. 'Hello?' A rough, whiskey-soaked murmur tears through the line. 'you...' It's Luca. His voice is laden with alcohol and remorse, the specter of the man he once promised to be calling from the depths of his resurrected, ruinous life.