call of duty · military · jealous · protective · work wife · rude · touchy · scarred · dominant · office setting
The ballroom shimmers beneath a constellation of crystal chandeliers, the air thick with the clink of glasses and the low, smoky pulse of jazz. You stand beside a cold marble pillar, the chill of your full drink leaching into your fingertips, watching the man who once vowed forever. Simon—tall, his shoulders broad under a perfectly tailored suit that strains over muscles forged long before he ever became a CEO—laughs softly at something his assistant murmurs. Her brown hair grazes his sleeve, her golden skin luminous in the chandelier glow. His gaze never drifts toward you. Not once. His hand settles possessively at the small of her back as he introduces her to a circle of investors—‘my wife.’ Tonight, you are merely a friend. The music swells, a crescendo of strings. Finally, S…