تسجيل الدخولThe new SoftVoice collection launch meeting was winding down. The conference room was bright with white light.
Song Sheng finalized the last proposal and closed her tablet."The face of the new collection is locked in. Zoe Brooks."She glanced at Elena, adding casually,"Oh, and Elena, she went to the same high school as you, I think? You might have something in common."Same high school.Zoe Brooks.The name was like a rusty key, unlocking a corner of ElenaAfter Victoria left, Elena sat cross-legged on the carpet, her back against the sofa.Only a floor lamp was on, its warm yellow glow surrounding her in a small, solitary circle.She went over the objects again and again, piecing together the version of Luke she had missed for seven years.Every photo. Every flight. They were his silent confessions.All the details she had deliberately ignored now rushed to the surface.He had tanked his grades on purpose. Stayed in school for the one year they should never have had together.He had torn up that love letter. Not to guard it for Alexander, but out of a teenage boy's clumsy, possessive need to claim her for himself.He had given her hyacinth seeds instead of flowers. Too scared to give her the real thing. Too scared she would know the meaning. Too scared she wouldn't.He had flown to London forty-two times and never come close. Because he was afraid he would lose control.He had taken on the
The new SoftVoice collection launch meeting was winding down. The conference room was bright with white light.Song Sheng finalized the last proposal and closed her tablet."The face of the new collection is locked in. Zoe Brooks."She glanced at Elena, adding casually,"Oh, and Elena, she went to the same high school as you, I think? You might have something in common."Same high school.Zoe Brooks.The name was like a rusty key, unlocking a corner of Elena's memory that she had kept locked away.High school. The grove of trees behind the gym.The girl who had stood in front of Luke Cole, confessing her feelings like a scene from a movie.---The work session went surprisingly smoothly.Zoe was professional, dedicated, and didn't act like a spoiled celebrity.During a break, they sat in the lounge drinking coffee.Zoe suddenly set down her cup, looked at Elena, and smiled with a hint of nostalgia."Elena, yo
The bathroom door slid open, and a wave of steam rolled out ahead of him. Luke stepped into the living room, shirtless, his dark hair still dripping. One towel was draped over his shoulders, while another was wrapped precariously low around his hips, the knot resting right on his pelvic bone. Elena was curled up on the sofa. The TV was on, but the volume was muted. She caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye—one second, two seconds—and felt the heat crawl up into the tips of her ears. He took the towel from his shoulders, rubbed his head with a few lazy strokes, and tossed it toward the laundry basket with a practiced, masculine grace. "Hairdryer," he said, his voice dropping an octave. A stray droplet escaped his wet hair, tracking down the corded muscle of his neck and disappearing into the hollow of his collarbone. Elena pointed toward the entertainment center. "Left drawer." Luke didn't move. He leaned against the doorframe, watchi
The echoes of Alexander Knight and Lisa White’s wedding high had finally begun to settle as the night deepened. Elena Voss had just finished stripping off her bridesmaid makeup and changing into her silk pajamas when the doorbell rang. She checked the peephole. Luke Cole was leaning against the doorframe, his hair damp and messy. He was wearing nothing but a loosely tied bathrobe that hung low off his shoulders, revealing a broad expanse of hard, tanned chest. Her heart skipped a beat as she cracked the door open just an inch. "What’s wrong?" Luke tilted his head toward his own door across the hall. "Pipe burst. My place is a lake. I need to borrow your shower." Elena blinked, stunned. "Burst?" "Yeah. It’s a total disaster zone," he sighed, his eyes drooping with a look of pure, puppy-dog innocence. "The building manager won't have a plumber here until tomorrow." Elena hesitated. It was late, they were alone, and her ex-boyfriend was asking for her
The day Elena Voss left, Luke Cole stood behind the glass wall on the second floor of the international departures terminal. The cigarette between his fingers burned down to the filter. He only snapped back to reality when the heat stung his skin. The flight board refreshed. Her flight was marked as departed. He let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh. Damn. She actually left. Ever since that little rabbit fled to London, whiskey became his nightly companion. Alcohol was a beautiful thing—it burned the throat, scorched the heart, and blurred the memories he shouldn't be dwelling on. But the more he drank, the sharper the details became. He was a fixture in the nightlife scene, yet he never let anyone get close. His body had an automatic "no-fly zone" for anyone who wasn't Elena Voss. In seven years, he flew to London forty-two times. He watched her through every season. His passport was littered with stamps, yet he never once cross
Monday. Elena Voss found a hardcover journal tucked inside her desk. She flipped to the first page. The handwriting was bold and familiar, etched deep into the paper with only two words. "I'm sorry." There was no signature. She didn't need one. She knew Luke Cole's scrawl anywhere. She shoved the notebook into the very bottom of her bag and never pulled it out again. From that day on, Luke truly stayed away. He stopped "coincidentally" crossing paths with her in the hallway. He stopped stealing her water bottles and ruffling her hair until it was a mess. When they occasionally brushed past each other in the corridors, he'd offer nothing more than a faint, distant glance before keeping his distance. It was as if he had retracted every sharp edge of his personality, becoming a silent shadow in her world. Elena matched his withdrawal with a quiet coordination of her own. She forced her heart to stop skipping
I wiped my hands slowly with a napkin, not even bothering to lift my eyes."Does the young master rule the heavens and earth, or does he rule where people throw their trash?""Besides, digging through the trash is a habit for dogs."My fingers went slack, and the napkin fluttered d
Alexander raised an eyebrow, his gaze catching on my whitened knuckles."Afraid he'll see?"His voice was low, carrying the casual scrutiny of a man who held all the cards."Since when did Assistant Lisa lose her taste for trouble?"I couldn't let Ethan discover us. Not now.
I slipped into the driver's seat but didn't fire the engine right away. I leaned back wearily against the seat, picking unconsciously at the steering wheel. Five million dollars sat quietly in my account, and the ashen, defeated faces of the three White family members still lingered viv
Dawn was breaking when I was jolted awake by my phone buzzing insistently on the nightstand.I pried my eyes open to find the screen flooded with notifications—over ninety-nine missed calls and messages.Icons for Marcus White, Elaine White, and Chloe White flashed relentlessly, t







