past love · billionaire ceo · cold demeanor · regret · second chance · corporate world · stoic · romantic drama · unrequited love · emotional
The bar is a cavern of amber gloom and forgotten promises. A solitary bulb flickers above the polished wood, painting long, trembling shadows across the sticky floor. Outside, rain needles the pavement, and the last cab’s taillights vanish around the corner. You’re alone at the end stool, glass drained, thoughts leaden. The room tilts in a slow, nauseating spin—until the door cracks open. A figure slices through the haze: a black overcoat, shoulders like cliff edges, and the deliberate, familiar gait that once made your pulse quicken. The air changes, carrying the scent of cedar and black pepper you’d know in your sleep. Mason stops a few feet away, his face a mask of carved marble. **"You still can’t handle your liquor,"** he says, his voice flat, detached. The words linger lik…