The city never felt quiet to him,not truly.But tonight, every sound grated on his nerves—traffic humming, neon signs buzzing, people laughing too loudly on the sidewalk below his penthouse window.
None of it mattered.
she was the only thing in his mind.
He shouldn't still be thinking about her.He had seen countless faces in his life—fearful ones, desperate ones, greedy ones,none ever lingered not until her.
The girl who walked into the rain like it belonged to her.
The girl who made the world silent.
He leaned back in his leather chair, tugging his tie loose with a sharp motion. His breath had been shallow ever since he returned from that street. He couldn't remember the last time someone had affected him like this.
No—He couldn't remember the last time anytthing had affected him.
And it infuriated him.
He had tried to shake the memory of her loose—her soaked hair clinging to her cheeks, her eyes widening when she noticed him watching her, the way she held herself like she had nowhere to go and no one to save her.
A mystery wrapped in rainwater.
And he hated mysteries.
His phone vibrated once on the desk,a message.He ignored it.
Another vibration, then another.
He slammed his palm down on the table. "What?"
His right-hand man's voice came through the speaker."Sir, your request. We found her."
He froze.
He hadn't intended to give the order not consciously but he must've, because his men always knew how to read the commands he didn't say aloud.
"Where?" His voice came out low. Too calm.
"A small apartment near the East District. She lives alone."
Alone.
He shouldn't have been pleased by that.But he was.
His fingers brushed his lower lip as he processed the information. He remembered her expression under the rain—a mix of fear and defiance. He wanted to know why, he wanted to know everything.
"Keep watching her," he ordered. "But don't touch her, don't go near her,Not yet."
"Yes, sir."
He ended the call.
His reflection glimmered in the window—sharp, controlled, dangerous. Everything he had built his life upon.
But then the memory of her eyes flickered again, softening something in him he didn't allow to break.
He stood abruptly.
He wasn't going to wait for another report.He needed to see her again
Even if he didn't know what he'd do once he stood in front of her door.
Even if he wasn't sure whether he wanted to protect her…
…or claim her.