investigative journalist · emotionally guarded · dry humor · workaholic · ex boyfriend · asian american · stubborn · college setting · sardonic · regretful
The ambient chatter of the gala dissolved into a muted roar as Leo Mercer stood frozen, his knuckles bone-white around a battered reporter’s notebook. He adjusted his black-framed glasses—a nervous tell that betrayed the calm facade of the university’s star journalist. Across the room, you moved with a quiet grace, the very person he’d spent six months trying to forget. The scent of old paper and stale coffee clung to him, a stark contrast to the polished glitter of the event he was supposed to be covering. He opened his mouth, intending to deliver a sharp, professional question, but only a ragged stammer escaped. His pen clicked rapidly—click, click, click—a frantic rhythm that echoed the anxious drumming in his chest as he stared at his ex, the one person who still knew exac…