LOGINGregGreg watched as Ariana walked into the crowd below the rooftop, shrinking into a speck of a person with each step, until she was lost, completely out of sight past the entrance to the building.For a few moments, he didn’t move.He just stood there, his hands on the railing, gazing at the empty place where she was.The city went around him.Cars drove down the roads.Some people were laughing down there.The lights were shining on the buildings in the distance.Everything went on as usual.However, Greg was rather quiet.Ariana trusted him.Not completely.Not yet.But enough.Enough to reveal to him what she normally kept secret.Just enough to say that she was scared.Enough to let him know about the pain she felt, which lingered far after he was prepared to move on.That scared him more than anything else, anyway.Greg Blackwood was used to people wanting something from him.His money.His connections.His company.His name.Individuals came to him for what he could offer.Not
CHAPTER EIGHT The next few weeks moved with unexpected grace. Work was steady, the Bluezone project was gaining momentum, and Ariana found herself waking up with more ease and less dread. The weight she’d been carrying for years had begun to lift, slowly but surely. And Greg? Greg had become a constant. He didn’t push. He didn’t pry. He simply showed up. With coffee. With encouragement. With genuine, quiet affection that didn’t demand anything in return. Their dinners turned into walks, which turned into long phone calls at night. Sometimes they didn’t even talk—just shared silence, laughter, and stories about the most mundane things. Ariana found herself looking forward to those moments more than she’d ever admit out loud. Still, there was a wall inside her she hadn’t fully torn down. A part of her that remained guarded, cautious. She wanted to believe in Greg. She wanted to believe she could be happy again. But something about peace made her suspicious. Like it was too good t
The week passed in a blur. Meetings. Deadlines. Quick lunches at her desk. Ariana kept herself busy, partly out of necessity, partly as a distraction. It was easier to stay in control when her schedule allowed no space for thinking. But the nights were harder. At night, the silence crept in like fog under a door—soft, quiet, and impossible to ignore. Her apartment felt too still, her bed too big. She would lie awake, replaying the moment Ryan stepped into her office, over and over again. His face. His voice. The nerve of him to act like time hadn’t changed anything. She didn’t cry anymore. Not because she wasn’t hurt—but because the sadness had become a dull ache, like an old injury that flares up only when it rains. ⸻ Friday morning came too quickly, and with it, the final stages of the Bluezone proposal. Ariana had barely stepped out of the elevator when she noticed Greg waiting near the entrance to her floor, holding two coffees. “For you,” he said, handing her the cup witho
CHAPTER SEVENThe week passed in a blur. Meetings. Deadlines. Quick lunches at her desk. Ariana kept herself busy, partly out of necessity, partly as a distraction. It was easier to stay in control when her schedule allowed no space for thinking.But the nights were harder.At night, the silence crept in like fog under a door—soft, quiet, and impossible to ignore. Her apartment felt too still, her bed too big. She would lie awake, replaying the moment Ryan stepped into her office, over and over again. His face. His voice. The nerve of him to act like time hadn’t changed anything.She didn’t cry anymore. Not because she wasn’t hurt—but because the sadness had become a dull ache, like an old injury that flares up only when it rains.⸻Friday morning came too quickly, and with it, the final stages of the Bluezone proposal. Ariana had barely stepped out of the elevator when she noticed Greg waiting near the entrance to her floor, holding two coffees.“For you,” he said, handing her the cu
CHAPTER SIXAriana let out a long, tired breath as the door clicked shut behind Ryan. It was as if the air had been sucked from the room, and only now, with him gone, could she breathe again. Her chest ached, her throat tight with unspoken rage and heartbreak. She had spent so long burying those memories, convincing herself she had moved on. But the moment she saw him again, it all came rushing back—like a tidal wave she hadn’t been prepared for.Greg leaned against the edge of her desk, his expression unreadable. “So… that was Ryan?”Ariana nodded, her eyes fixed on the floor. “Unfortunately.”Greg said nothing for a moment. The silence between them wasn’t awkward—it was tense, thick with unsaid things. Finally, he spoke. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. That didn’t look easy.”“It wasn’t.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.She walked to the window, arms crossed tightly over her chest, watching the traffic move along the street below. The city was alive and bustling, indiff
Ariana drove to work with her foot heavy on the gas pedal, cursing under her breath for having woken up late. She had stayed up late finishing some work tasks and now was regretting it. It really was not like her to oversleep, she blamed it on the wine from last night. Just two glasses, she thought, but apparently enough to completely disrupt her morning routine.Ariana burst into the office and nearly ran Emily over in the hall. "Is Greg here yet?" Ariana huffed, still breathing hard."Not yet. But there's someone waiting in your office-one of the guys from Bluezone," Emily said. "Why are you late?""I overslept. You should've seen me racing here," Ariana said, shaking her head in disbelief."Well, he's been waiting for over 30 minutes. Just get in there, we'll catch up later." Emily said, ushering her forward.Ariana flung open the door to her office in a rush. "Good morning! I'm so sorry for the wait—" she began, but her feet stopped working and her words froze in her throat as she







