The city glittered below him like a jeweled tapestry, each light a reminder of the empire he was expected to command. Adrian Blackwell leaned against the glass wall of his office, a tumbler of whiskey in his hand, though he hadn't touched it in over an hour. His reflection stared back tall, controlled, every line of his face sharpened by years of expectation. Yet tonight, there was something restless behind his eyes.
He told himself it was nothing. Just another chance encounter. A woman with sharp wit and eyes that didn't flinch beneath his gaze. He'd met thousands. Boardrooms, fundraisers, charity galas faces blurred together until they no longer mattered. But hers… hers lingered like an echo he couldn't silence.
Maya.
The way she had looked at him curious, cautious, and yet unafraid had unsettled him. And for a fleeting moment, he was reminded of his sister's gentle gaze carrying the same fire. She had been gone for years, taken too soon by the cold hands of death.
And yet there stood a stranger who carried his sister's spirit in her eyes, it unsettled him, tugged at something buried so deep he thought had died with her.
Adrian set the glass down and loosened his tie. His father's voice rang in his memory: You don't have time for distractions. The heir to an empire doesn't have the luxury of wanting.
He had built his life on those words, walls of discipline and control surrounding him like armor. And yet, for the first time in years, cracks had begun to form.
He crossed the room, each step silent against polished marble floors. His office was immaculate, lifeless almost expensive art on the walls, shelves lined with books he barely had time to read, leather furniture that no one ever sat in but him. Everything in its place. Everything perfect. Yet the silence pressed in on him tonight like a weight.
Adrian sank into the chair by the window, letting the city's hum rise faintly from below. He should be reviewing reports, calling his broker in Tokyo, preparing for next week's acquisition deal. But instead, he found himself replaying a single moment: Maya's voice as she'd said his name. Not with awe. Not with calculation. With something dangerously close to curiosity.
Curiosity could unravel him.
He rubbed a hand over his jaw, irritation warring with intrigue. What did it matter if he remembered the curve of her smile, or the way she seemed both fragile and unbreakable all at once? He would likely never see her again.
But the truth whispered beneath his denial he wanted to.
For a man who'd spent his life refusing every distraction, that want was its own kind of weakness.
A sharp knock echoed through the apartment, dragging him back to the present. He straightened instantly, slipping the mask of composure over his features. No one visited him unannounced. Not in this world.
"Enter," he called, voice clipped.
His assistant stepped inside, a thin folder in her hands. "Sir, the contracts you requested. Also, your father called. Twice."
Adrian's jaw tightened. Of course. His father never rested, never allowed space for error. "Tell him I'll return his call in the morning."
She hesitated. "He said it was urgent."
Everything was urgent with his father. Every detail of his life scrutinized, every move calculated. Adrian dismissed her with a nod, waiting until the door closed again. The silence returned, heavier than before.
Urgent or not, Adrian couldn't bring himself to care tonight. Not when the memory of Maya's eyes refused to leave him alone.
He leaned back, staring out at the city lights. For years, he had told himself he was untouchable, that nothing could pierce the armor he'd built around his life. But one chance encounter in a crowded street had shifted something he couldn't name.
And though he didn't know it yet, that single shift would cost him everything.