CHAPTER 1
Sophie never planned to be anywhere near the Golden Crown Hotel that night. She was only there because her friend begged her to help serve drinks for a few hours. Her small world rarely crossed paths with the wealthy, and she preferred it that way. Rich people made her nervous — their polished shoes, their expensive perfume, their eyes that always looked through her, never at her.
But that night, one pair of eyes didn't look through her. They found her.
Alexander Westwood.
The CEO everyone whispered about. Powerful. Cold. Untouchable. The man whose face appeared in magazines with headlines that made him look like a god among men. Sophie had only seen him from afar before, never like this — leaning over the bar counter, tie loosened, eyes darker than the night.
He looked… broken.
"Water," he muttered, voice low and hoarse, like someone who had spent all day fighting battles no one else could see.
Sophie passed him the glass carefully. "Are you okay, sir?"
He blinked slowly, studying her as if her voice had pulled him out of some deep place. "I don't know," he said, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "Maybe I'm tired. Maybe I'm drunk. Maybe I've finally reached my limit."
She should have walked away. Sophie always kept her head down, always stayed invisible. But something about the loneliness in his voice made her pause.
And maybe it was the loneliness in hers too.
"Do you want me to call someone for you?" she asked softly.
"No," he whispered. "No one cares enough to come."
Those words hit her deeper than she expected. Before she could think, she sat beside him, offering quiet company — nothing more. But Alexander looked at her like she was the first gentle thing he'd seen in years.
One thing led to another. The music hummed softly. His hand brushed hers. He leaned closer, his breath warm against her cheek. The world outside disappeared, leaving only their two hearts beating in a rhythm neither of them understood.
By the time dawn crept in, everything had changed.
And neither of them knew it yet.