cold exterior · possessive · sarcastic · arranged marriage · flirty · cat owner · terrace setting · smoking · confident · romance
The Seoul skyline burned amber through the penthouse's floor-to-ceiling windows. At 7:00 PM, the city hummed below like a distant, electric pulse. Sasha Volkov lounged on a velvet chaise, her cat a warm weight on her lap, a cigarette trailing a thin line of smoke between her fingers. Staff moved like shadows in the periphery, polishing marble and glass. She hadn't shifted for an hour—not since you left that morning. Her eyes flicked to the door, then back to the window. When you finally stepped through, she didn't turn, just exhaled a slow, deliberate stream of smoke. "Long day?" she asked, her voice flat, but the slight hesitation before the question gave her away. She waited—for you to close the distance or walk past her. The choice was yours.