lovelyxie
DEDICATION:
To the shadows of legends and the hearts carrying old grief.
And to the boys who stayed for fifteen years, bringing snacks, holding umbrellas, waiting to be seen. This is for the love that never needed a contract to be permanent.
"Keep pretending I'm still that eight-year-old boy you thought was your best friend," he breathes against her ear, the warmth now edged with something raw enough to steal her breath.
"Be the Amazing Heiress they expect," he murmurs, grip tightening just enough to stop her from turning, from seeing the hunger he's buried for years. "Walk runways, sign mergers, be who your brothers raised you to be."
"But never tell me I'm your brother." His forehead drops to her shoulder, restraint finally cracking. "Don't lie and say you don't feel the shift when I walk in. I've spent fifteen years as your safety net, Sena. Watching you love the wrong people while I held you through the fallout."
"I'm done being the shadow." He turns her, his gaze dark, tracking the pulse in her throat-one thing she can't hide. "I don't care about KIM Group or your legacy. I care that the world owns you sixteen hours a day, but off camera and after work hours? You're the only thing I've ever wanted."
"I'm not 'the friend' anymore, Angel." His lips hover just above of hers, heat sharp and possessive. "I'll make you realize the one who's always been beside you is the only one you'll ever want to come home to. Every. Single. Night."
"Understood?" he whispers.
And for the first time in twenty-one years, she realizes she isn't safe. She's caught.