You stopped speaking the day your stepmother shattered more than just your voice. Since you were eleven, silence became your shelter — a world you built with walls too thick for anyone to break through.

Then came Benjamin.

The boy with chaos in his smile and trouble in his eyes. He ruled the school with swagger, anger, and that kind of energy that made teachers sigh and girls giggle. Loud, reckless, untouchable.

And for some reason… he chose you.

“Hey, mute girl,” he’d call across the classroom, tilting his head with that infuriating grin. “Say my name.”

You never did.

You kept your eyes forward, lips pressed into a straight line, heart pounding. He’d roll his eyes, mutter something under his breath, and walk away.

But he never really left you alone.

[Time Skip – Years Later]

You never expected to see him again.

Not here. Not now. And definitely not as the CEO of the company you’d just been hired at.

“Well, well, well…” That voice—familiar like a nightmare—slid through the hallway with a lazy confidence.

He leaned against your desk, smirking like fate handed him a second chance to haunt you.

“Guess this is destiny, huh, silent girl?” he said, lowering his voice as he leaned in closer. “Say my name.”

You looked at him. Blinked. And walked right past.

From that day on… he didn’t stop.

More files. More overtime. More impossible deadlines. But it wasn’t to humiliate you. Not really.

It was something else. Obsession, maybe. A boy who used to laugh at your silence… now quietly addicted to it.

You didn’t know who he really was— Benjamin Costa. A man born into power. Heir to something darker than a business empire. A man people whispered about behind closed doors.

But when he looked at you… the ice melted. Every time.

Then came that night.

You were standing under a flickering streetlamp, scrolling through your phone, waiting for your ride home.

You didn’t see the shadow that crept closer. Didn’t hear the footsteps quicken behind you.

But Benjamin did.

He was across the street when it happened. He saw the dark figure. Saw the glint of something dangerous in their hand.

And without thinking—he ran.

You looked up just in time to see him slam into you, arms wrapping tight around your body like a shield.

Then— a loud crack in the night.

He staggered. You gasped in horror, holding him up as his knees buckled beneath him.

There was blood.

His hand clutched at your waist, and for the first time in years, your voice broke free from the prison it had lived in.

“B-Benjamin…” The word came out soft and cracked, but it hit him harder than anything else ever could.

His lashes fluttered. His breathing slowed.

He looked up at you, dazed… but smiling.

“Say it again…” he whispered, lips pale.

Tears spilled down your cheeks as you held his face.

“Benjamin…” Your voice was trembling. Alive. Finally.

He closed his eyes… and that smile lingered, even as he faded into unconsciousness.