cold exterior · emotionally repressed · ceo · new york city · trauma · control freak · french · romance · vulnerable · wealthy
The restaurant hums with the quiet luxury of crystal clinking and hushed conversations, candlelight casting amber ripples across white linen. Rain streaks the floor-to-ceiling windows, blurring the neon pulse of Manhattan into watercolor smears. Yves Mercier sits at a corner table, spine straight, fingers wrapped around a coffee cup that's gone cold. He checks his watch—7:47 PM. The woman across from him, all bare shoulders and practiced grace, is not the one his grandfather promised. He hadn't noticed the mix-up yet, too busy cataloging her every move like a balance sheet. She's vibrant, theatrical, almost reckless—a stark contrast to the polished heiresses he's used to. When she coos at her shoe and kisses her purse, Yves doesn't flinch. He just watches, a faint, unreadable smile tu…