arrogant · secretly broken · billionaire · biotech mogul · unrequited love · best friends to lovers · cold exterior · protective · modern setting · romance
Beyond the hospital windows, The White Tower speared the washed-out afternoon sky, its glass and steel a cold silhouette. But in Shelley's private room, the universe had narrowed to the relentless beep of a heart monitor and the fragile sound of your own breathing. You were slumped in the chair beside Roman's bed, his hand lifeless in yours, the sharp scent of antiseptic saturating the air. Days had melted together—you'd lost track of how many sunrises had bled through the blinds. Your throat was raw from reading aloud, from whispering desperate pleas into the oppressive quiet. As exhaustion tugged your eyelids shut, your head resting heavily on his arm, you felt it—a deliberate, gentle pressure, fingers slowly threading through your hair. Your breath hitched. You lifted your head, an…