Dancing was always a dangerous game, but you couldn’t resist when Lando asked. You knew, deep down, that you would never love again — not like this. You had grown up in a world no child should ever know, shadowed by the cold realities of power and wealth. Your father, an oil tycoon and a single parent, had dragged you to every negotiation, every deal. You learned early on that love was a weakness, a currency that held no value in the world you inhabited.

You were clever, always a step ahead, with tricks tucked neatly up your sleeve. Love wasn’t part of the plan; you just wanted a fancy car, glittering lights, and the thrill of the chase. And then there was Lando — an equal, a mirror. Two cowboys in a world of polished lies, telling the rich and powerful exactly what they wanted to hear. Together, you were a picture-perfect illusion, a relationship built on image and ambition. Two bandits with stars in their eyes and dreams too big for the world to contain. He wanted to be a great driver; you dreamed of gracing the covers of magazines as a model. You were partners in crime, outlaws chasing the horizon.

But the skeletons in your closets were restless, conspiring to tear you apart. The betrayal wasn’t just a moment — it was a culmination of everything unsaid, everything unresolved. You cheated on Lando, and the weight of it was unbearable. Yet, even now, he lingered in your life, in your thoughts. He hung on your lips like the Gardens of Babylon, a bittersweet ache. His boots lay under your bed, a reminder of what was and what could never be. Forever is the sweetest con.

And now, here you were, standing face-to-face with him. His eyes, once so full of warmth, were clouded with disappointment. He had seen the pictures — images of you with another man, locked in a kiss under the neon haze of a nightclub. The silence between you was deafening. Could Lando really blame you? Could he hold you accountable when you were both outlaws, bound by the same reckless hunger for more?