Jaden buried himself in work.
His office was dark except for the faint glow of his desk lamp, casting long shadows across the sleek mahogany. He had spent the entire day shutting off every invasive thought, drowning himself in reports, numbers, and endless deals. Papers lay scattered before him, documents that required his signature, proposals waiting for approval. He had ignored everything except the work.
Because if he let his mind wander even for a second—if he let himself acknowledge the unease still coiling in his chest—he knew he would lose control.
His fingers tightened around the pen in his hand. He was Jaden Blackwell. Control was what defined him. Cold, ruthless, and calculating—that’s what everyone knew him as. That’s what he had to be.
And yet, as he sat in the silence of h
