The study was still with only the ticking sound of the grandfather clock. Piles of reports and contracts spread across the desk, numbers and names blurring together no matter how many times I read them.
I should have been focused. Our business never slept, and for every mistake done, it came together with dangerous consequences.
But tonight, none of this held my attention.
It's her face that kept breaking through the pages.
The look in her eyes when the rain had nearly consume her, the way her voice wavered when she said my name in the library, the fire she carried is so different from the shadows I lived in.
I dragged a hand over my face, swearing under my breath.
"She wasn't supposed to be part of this, Tristan. She wasn't supposed to matter," I keep repeating in my heart.
And yet, my phone was already in my hand before I could talk myself out of it.
Her number glowed on the screen. I hesitated for a while before pressing the dial button.
The ring felt endless, and part of me prayed that she wouldn't pick up. But then, her voice, soft and uncertain, filled my ear.
"…Tristan?"
For a moment, I blanked with uncertainty. I just breathed, the sound of her voice when saying my name was too dangerous.
"I shouldn't be calling," I admitted, my voice rough.
"Then why did you... called?" she whispered.
I closed my eyes, leaning back against the chair. "Because my brain refused to stop thinking about you, Ellie."
Silence stretched, broken only by her shallow intake of breath. I know I'd said too much, and I'm aware that I've crossed the line I shouldn't be crossing.
Before either of us could say more, a sharp knock rattled my study door. Charlie stepped in without waiting for my answer, and his expression was tight.
"Tristan," he said grimly, ignoring the phone in my hand. "We've got a problem. One of the shipments didn't clear. Someone is asking questions."
The room shifted, pulling me back into the weight of the empire I carried. I ended the call abruptly, guilt pressing sharp against my chest.
Ellie's voice still echoed in my ear, softer than the storm, stronger than the silence.
Charlie narrowed his eyes at me. "You're distracted. This is not like you, Tristan."
"I'm fine," I lied.
But as Charlie laid the folder on my desk, my thoughts were already elsewhere. It's on the girl who had no place in this world, yet had somehow managed to become my weakness.
Tristan opened the folder, scanning the report, and his expression darkened.
The name listed as "potential witness" made my blood run cold.
Ellie Everett.