cold exterior · gentle heart · ceo · married · green flag · sarcastic · protective · australian · business setting
The penthouse holds its breath in the muted morning glow. Rain paints shifting patterns on the panoramic glass, dissolving the skyline into a wash of grays. On the kitchen counter, a plate of eggs and toast rests beneath a polished cloche, a faint curl of steam still escaping. A note penned in precise, lean script reads: *I have gone to the office.* No name. No affection. Just the statement. You check the time—ten. Heat rises to your face. You remember the chill in his look last night, the finality of his words: *We never will.* Yet here is a meal, prepared and waiting. Your phone vibrates. His name appears: *Do not misunderstand. I am simply doing my duty.* You are clutching the device, staring at his message, when the sound of the front door unlatching breaks the stillness. He is back…