Early the next morning, Anya Holloway returned once again to the lobby of Stone Corporation.
The building was quiet at this hour, sunlight filtering through the glass walls and reflecting off the marble floor. Anya stood near the entrance, her hands clasped tightly around the strap of her bag. She had barely slept. Her mind replayed the events of the previous night again and again, but she forced herself to focus.
She could not leave Central City without trying one last time.
After a while, movement near the entrance caught her attention. A group of assistants entered first, walking quickly and speaking in low voices. Then a tall man followed.
His presence immediately shifted the atmosphere of the lobby.
He wore a dark suit, his posture straight and commanding, his expression cold and distant. People instinctively stepped aside as he passed.
Anya's heart tightened for reasons she could not explain.
That must be Mr. Stone, she thought. The CEO of Stone Corporation. She recognised the back view she seemed at her office and the night before.
Even before she consciously recognized him, her heart reacted. It beat faster, heavier, as if something deep inside her had been stirred awake.
She took a breath and stepped forward.
"Mr Stone," she said carefully. "Good morning. I'm Anya Holloway from Riverside Technology. We still hope your company can reconsider signing the contract with us."
Alaric did not stop walking.
"I don't have time," he replied coldly.
His voice was distant, professional, and completely void of emotion. It was as though the night before had never happened.
Anya swallowed and forced herself to continue.
"Then when would you be available, Mr Stone?"
Before Alaric could answer, the man beside him spoke.
"He's free tonight," Leo Lin said calmly.
Alaric glanced at Leo, his expression unreadable. He knew exactly what Leo was doing. Without another word, he turned and stepped into the elevator. The doors slid shut behind him.
Anya stood frozen in place.
Leo turned to her and offered a polite smile. "Hello. I'm Leo Lin, Mr Stone's assistant."
He handed her a slip of paper with an address written neatly on it.
"I'm only giving you this one chance," Leo said quietly. "Do your best."
Anya hesitated. "Will this disturb Mr Stone's private time?"
"There's no other option," Leo replied. "He's extremely busy."
Anya nodded slowly. "Thank you. I have to return to Riverside tomorrow, so I really hope we can resolve the project tonight."
"Then I wish you luck," Leo said.
"Thank you," Anya replied, forcing a smile.
She could not help but feel conflicted. Alaric was cold and distant, yet the people around him seemed unexpectedly kind.
****
That night, at exactly nine o'clock, Anya stood outside a large house on the outskirts of Central City.
She had not expected it to be so remote.
Behind the house stretched a dense forest, dark and silent, the trees swaying gently in the night breeze. The air felt colder here, heavier.
She rang the doorbell.
Once.
Twice.
On the third ring, the door opened.
Alaric stood there.
"Leo sent you," he said flatly.
"Yes," Anya replied nervously. "Mr Stone, I'm sorry to disturb you. I know this is your personal time, but please give me five minutes."
Before he could respond, she stepped inside.
"You just walk into a man's house like that?" Alaric said impatiently.
"I'm only here to talk about the project," Anya said quickly. "And I know you're not that kind of person. I also saw that you already have a girlfriend."
Her words barely finished before Alaric stepped forward.
His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her firmly against him.
Anya froze.
It was the first time she had ever been held so closely by a man. Her heart pounded violently, her face flushing as heat rushed through her body.
"Stay the night," Alaric whispered near her ear. "And I'll sign the contract."
"Mr Stone…" Anya whispered, her voice trembling. She did not know how to respond.
His expression darkened.
"Anya," he said coldly, staring directly into her eyes. "Didn't you once say you never wanted to see me again? Don't you remember?"
Her breath caught.
Memories surged forward without warning.
The boy who waited for her after school.
The boy who never let her walk alone.
Her eyes widened.
"You're… Alaric Stone?" she asked in disbelief.
"You finally remember me," he replied.
"I'm sorry," Anya said softly.
"Is that all you have to say?" Alaric asked.
"I know I hurt you when we were young," she said. "That's why you left."
"You told me to leave," he corrected.
"I know," Anya said quickly. "I was young and didn't understand. I apologize. I hope our personal matters won't affect our work."
He watched her carefully.
"In all these years," he asked quietly, "did you never think of me?"
Anya lowered her gaze. She could hear the bitterness beneath his calm voice.
"Can we not talk about this right now?" she said softly.
Something hardened in his eyes.
"Go," Alaric said, releasing her. "I don't want to see you."
Her heart twisted painfully.
"I understand. Mr Stone, I'm sorry for disturbing you tonight."
She bowed her head and left.
The door closed.
The sound was soft, barely audible, but it echoed through the house like a final verdict.
Alaric stood where he was, his hand still suspended in the air where Anya had been only moments ago. The warmth of her body lingered against his palm, fading too slowly and too fast at the same time.
He hated that.
He hated that after all these years, after everything he had done to bury it, she still affected him this deeply.
His wolf stirred beneath the surface, restless and furious.
Mine.
The word came unbidden, sharp and demanding, slamming against the walls he had spent years building. Alaric clenched his jaw, forcing it back down.
No.
He turned away and his fist slammed into the sofa.
The impact sent a dull ache up his arm, but it did nothing to quiet the storm inside his chest.
She had walked into his life again without warning, without permission, carrying the same face that haunted his memories. The same eyes that had once looked at him with warmth and then with rejection.
I hate who you are now.
The words resurfaced effortlessly, as if they had never left.
He had been sixteen. Barely holding himself together. His instincts raw and unrestrained. He remembered the way his chest had burned that night, the way the bond had screamed as he forced it shut.
Alaric dragged a hand through his hair and exhaled slowly.
She stood there tonight, apologizing, asking him to separate the past from the present as if it were that simple. As if he had not spent years tearing himself apart trying to do exactly that.
And worse, she did not even recognize him at first.
To her, he was just Mr. Stone, the CEO of Stone Corporation. A stranger. A powerful man behind a desk.
She had looked at him with professionalism, with distance, with none of the familiarity that had once bound them together.
"Stay away," he muttered, not knowing whether he was speaking to her or to himself.
Outside, Anya walked away from the house, tears streaming freely down her face.
She finally understood the depth of the pain she had caused him.
The memories of their childhood replayed endlessly in her mind. The laughter. The warmth. The promises she had once believed would last forever.
She had never imagined that the boy who once stayed by her side would grow to look at her with such coldness.
She knew wounds did not heal simply because time had passed.