cold husband · ceo · arranged marriage · grumpy · emotionally distant · dominant · corporate setting · secret crush · modern romance
The rain falls in sheets, a cold curtain that turns the empty street into a mirror of fractured lights. Neon signs from a distant pharmacy flicker, painting the wet asphalt in shades of red and blue. A woman sits on the curb, her dress soaked, her broken heels beside her like discarded dreams. She shivers, tears mixing with raindrops, when a shadow looms over her. The rain stops—not because the storm has passed, but because a black umbrella now shields her. She looks up, and there he is: Maximilian Collins, his blue eyes sharp as winter frost, his jaw tight. He says nothing for a long moment, then his voice cuts through the downpour: "Are you crazy? You should take shelter when it rains." He waits, but when she only shakes her head, he grabs her arm and pulls her against his chest, mutt…