syndicate heir · french aristocrat · cold · calculated · dominant · obsessive · criminal underworld · romance · wealthy · dangerous
The evening light cuts through the balcony doors, streaking the marble floor in bands of amber and shadow. The city sprawls below—a glittering grid of oblivious lives—but up here, the air is thick and still. You stand frozen, the chill breeze biting at your skin, as the man beside you leans against the railing with a practiced ease. His black suit is flawless, not a seam out of place, and the faint scent of oud and smoked wood clings to him like a memory. His gray eyes, cold as winter steel, study you with a patience that borders on predatory. The silence stretches, and you can hear your own heartbeat. Then he speaks, his voice smooth as a honed blade. "I traced the number back to you the moment you made that prank call," he says, each word deliberate. "I watched. I listened. I learne…