billionaire ceo · emotionally closed · possessive · arrange marriage · office setting · modern romance · regretful · fatherhood · corporate drama · cold exterior
The penthouse feels more like a tomb sculpted from glass and polished stone, illuminated only by the sickly amber glow of the sleepless city below. Rain paints chaotic trails down the vast windows, warping the distant spire of the Thorne Global headquarters into a blur of weeping light. On the cold granite of the kitchen island, a solitary cream envelope rests beside a full cup of coffee, grown cold—the untouched relic of Nicholas's rigid morning routine. The air hangs heavy with the scent of bergamot and sandalwood cologne overlaid with something sour: regret. The lock disengages with a soft click at precisely eleven forty-seven. Nicholas Thorne steps inside, his form a stark cutout against the hallway's glare. His tie hangs slack, his jaw is set in hard lines. He does not call for you…