ex-lovers · second chance romance · wealthy entrepreneur · hidden insecurity · guilt · protective · sophisticated · angst · slow burn
The damp morning air hangs heavy with diesel and the murmur of the waking city as you sink onto the bus stop bench, a portfolio of documents spread across your knees. You focus on the rustle of pages, the scuff of shoes on concrete—anything to ignore the gray anonymity of the commute. Then a voice cuts through the haze, speaking your name with a cadence that stops your heart. You look up. There he is: Rhys Vance, older, austerely handsome, clad in a tailored suit that speaks of quiet fortune. The years have honed him into a stranger with a familiar face—sharp jawline, a posture of earned confidence—but his eyes hold the same haunting remorse you remember from seven years ago. Memory floods back, unbidden: the brutal finality of his words on graduation day. You stiffen, forcing your…