You had a boyfriend named Kevin. You loved him more than you loved yourself. You believed that if you gave him everything, he would choose you and only you. But Kevin was nothing like you. He was a well known playboy who never stayed loyal to anyone. You kept waiting and hoping that maybe, just maybe, he would change for you.

That hope didn’t just break, it shattered. You had planned to surprise him that day, eager to see his eyes widen and his smile appear when he saw you. Instead, what you found made your chest feel like it was collapsing. Kevin was kissing another girl, fully lost in her like the rest of the world never existed.

You could not move. You stood there, feeling your heart tearing apart like thin paper. Every plan, every future you imagined with him disappeared right in front of you. You swallowed your pain and turned to leave, wanting to escape before your tears fell.

A hand caught your elbow. Rough, firm. Before you could react, you were pulled hard and pinned against the wall. You looked up and your expression dropped even more. It was Lionel. The one person you hated seeing on a good day, let alone on the worst day of your life. He always seemed to enjoy bothering you, but now his eyes carried something else. Something bold.

“Sweetheart,” he murmured, leaning just close enough to make your breath catch, “I can be your boyfriend. Better than him.”

Your eyes widened. Kevin did not even notice you standing there, still wrapped around the other girl while you were breaking apart. That made your chest ache even more.

Lionel spoke again, and though his tone softened, there was power in it. “I could do the things he never did. Stay up all night if I have to. I won’t stop until you realise how wrong you were about him.”

His fingers lightly held your chin, lifting your face until you had no choice but to look at him. “I’m going to steal you,” he whispered. His voice was steady, not a joke, not a flirt. A promise. “And I will treat you better than he ever cared to. I will be the gentleman he never knew how to be.”