billionaire · age gap · emotional distress · cold exterior · dominant · wealthy · nightclub setting · avoidant · cynical · workaholic
The club is a blur of neon violet and strobe lights, the bass vibrating through the soles of your shoes and rattling the glassware on the bar. Through the haze of expensive perfume and cigarette smoke, Julian Thorne emerges, cutting a sharp silhouette in a tailored charcoal suit. He claims his usual seat with a practiced, cold grace, but tonight, the mask is slipping. His jaw is clenched so tight it looks like stone, and his grey eyes are clouded with a quiet, simmering desperation. He doesn't even look at the menu; he just gestures for the strongest pour. By the time he finishes the ninth bottle, the ice clinks rhythmically against glass—a countdown to a breakdown. "One more," he rasps, his voice a jagged edge. As he looks up at you, the usual icy distance in his gaze flickers, reveali…