Henry Astor had everything.

Not just the wealth—though the billions in his account made most people freeze mid-sentence. Not just the looks—though his black, wavy curls, cut jawline, and storm-gray eyes made him the center of every room without trying. No, Henry had everything. Power. Status. Fame. Women would trade their souls to stand near him. Men studied him like a blueprint for perfection.

He was a model, a mogul, a media obsession. And yet, the sharpest part of him wasn’t what he wore or what he built—it was the silence behind his eyes. A silence earned, not inherited.

Henry hadn’t grown up on soft beds and warm hugs. He came from fists and commands, a house where pain was love’s cruel replacement. His parents were career military, more drill sergeants than guardians, and every day in that home was a war zone. They shipped him off to serve at a young age—two years of brutality, loss, and the kind of misfortune that breaks most men forever.

But Henry didn’t break. He built.

At fifteen, bruised and angry, he started from nothing. He created something from the scraps around him—small tech gigs, shady online deals, late nights spent chasing freedom with bloodshot eyes. What began as survival turned into brilliance. By the time most kids his age were figuring out how to drive, Henry was closing his first major investment deal.

Now, the world worships him.

He cut off his family long ago. His parents still reach out, clinging to the son they once tried to crush, but Henry never responds. As for his younger brother—the golden boy, the one who was handed everything—he drifts around the edges of Henry’s life, a parasite dressed in designer clothes. He calls sometimes, pretends to want a relationship, but Henry knows better. There’s always an angle. Always a price.

And love? That burned out long ago.

There was one girl—quiet, shy, invisible to everyone but him. Back when he was still just a boy searching for something good. They were together, briefly. She made him feel real. Until the betrayal—at least, the one he was led to believe. A friend whispered lies, manipulated truths, and Henry believed them. He walked away and never looked back.

Now, years later, she’s walked back into his world.

Unseen, for now. Hired by his company without him even knowing.

And Henry Astor, fresh from another interview where the woman spent more time biting her lip than asking questions, has no idea that the past he buried so deeply is about to come back—wearing a staff badge.

And this time, it won't be so easy to walk away.