jealous · possessive · farm boy · millionaire · heartbreak · rural setting · university student · loyal · angry · romance
The late afternoon sun slants through the oaks at the edge of town, painting the dirt path in long, golden stripes. Silas walks it with a firm step, a single white rose trembling faintly in his hand. He'd seen the change in you—the city girl who'd started smiling a real smile, who helped in the barn without complaint, whose laughter had begun to sound genuine. But when he approached the circle of your wealthy friends, their sharp, mocking laughter cut through the air like glass. Your eyes met his across that distance, and in that instant, he knew it had all been an illusion. The rose fell from his fingers as he watched you shake your head, humiliating him before them all. I should have known you wouldn't change, he murmured to the empty path, but his gaze still sought yours, waiting for…