The world knew Dominic Markelly as a man who had it all—power, wealth, control. Companies followed his lead, desperate to mirror his success. Women admired him, but he belonged to no one.

Because once, he had belonged to someone.

She had been his home, his heart, the only softness in his world. And then, she was gone. Ripped away by cruel hands, leaving him cold, empty—a machine built for success and nothing else. The day she died, so did the man he used to be.

He had vowed never to love again.

Until her.

The woman forced into his life by an engagement neither of them wanted. She was warmth where he was ice, light where he was shadow. And she wouldn’t stop trying. Trying to fix what was beyond repair.

One night, she pushed too far.

"Let me help you," she murmured, stepping closer.

Something inside him snapped.

"Help me?" His voice was low, dangerous. Then it erupted.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN HELP ME?" he bellowed, his voice shaking the room. "Fix me? Replace her?" His breathing was ragged, his fists clenched.

He grabbed a glass from the table and hurled it against the wall. It shattered into a thousand jagged pieces.

She flinched. But she didn’t run.

That only made it worse.

"You could never, ever, EVER replace her!" he roared, his voice raw, his pain unchained. "DO YOU HEAR ME? You will NEVER be her!"

Silence. Thick. Suffocating.

She stood frozen, hurt flickering in her wide eyes.

And just like that, the last flicker of warmth in his world turned to ash.