LyaAaron
At twenty-one, Elira Ayana Naki is an expert at holding it all together. Studying engineering far from home, she keeps her head down, her grades up, and her pain locked deep inside. The youngest of six daughters, the quiet one, the one who left-and the one who's never truly healed.
She's not looking for love. She's just trying to survive.
Then a part-time job drops her into the world of Elliot Warren Hayes: older, wealthy, the CEO of a rising tech empire. A man who shouldn't even notice her.
But he does.
Their connection starts formal-intern and CEO-but beneath the surface, something simmers. Elliot is calm, observant, never pushing, but always listening. He calls her by her full name, asks questions, and stays long enough to hear the real answers.
Slowly, Elira's walls begin to fall.
As they grow closer, she's forced to face the trauma she's buried, the guilt she carries for surviving, and her desperate need to be loved without being fixed.
Elliot doesn't try to save her.
He doesn't promise or rescue. He simply stays-steady, quiet.
And for the first time, Elira wonders:
What if healing isn't forgetting?
What if love isn't the answer-but the hand you hold through the fire?