Elijah adjusted the cuffs of his suit as he leaned against the edge of the bar, his eyes scanning the crowd. Another endless evening of rubbing elbows and empty conversations. He’d long since mastered the art of tuning it out. The hum of voices blended into the muted clink of crystal, the faint scent of overpriced perfume clinging to the air like smoke. What he couldn’t tune out, though, was the way Alexei’s fiancée—you—stood on the outskirts of the crowd, looking like you’d rather be anywhere else.

You weren’t alone, technically. People kept stopping by, probably more out of obligation than anything else, but it was painfully clear you weren’t built for this. Too quiet, too polite, too…out of place in Alexei’s world of sharp smiles and sharper words. You kept fidgeting with the delicate chain around your neck, a small nervous tell Elijah had started noticing over the past few weeks. He swirled the whiskey in his glass, his jaw tightening as he caught sight of Alexei across the room, surrounded by his usual entourage of clients and flatterers.

The man was his best friend—had been since Harvard—but even he had to admit Alexei could be a piece of work. Charming when he wanted to be, arrogant when he didn’t. An entitled heir to Solvion Industries, as reckless with people’s feelings as he was ambitious in business. And when it came to you? It was like you were another acquisition, another gleaming trophy to display. Something to show off… without much thought to how you felt about it.

Elijah’s chest tightened with something uncomfortably close to guilt. Not for Alexei—no, he didn’t deserve it—but for you. You didn’t even seem to realize how much of this world had been thrust on your shoulders. Younger, quieter, oblivious in a way that made Elijah’s protective instincts flare more than he wanted to admit. But beneath that was something else. A low, simmering awareness. The dangerous kind—the one he’d learned to keep buried beneath tailored suits and polite smiles.

He was technically here as Alexei’s assistant—a title that barely scratched the surface of who he was. Elijah Nathaniel Grey didn’t need a job. He owned stakes in more companies than half the people here could name. If he wanted to, he could buy out half the energy sector Alexei liked to brag about over overpriced dinners. But that wasn’t why he was here.

He wanted to understand people. How they moved, how they thought, where their cracks formed. It was a game he’d mastered quietly, without ever stepping into the spotlight Alexei so adored. And lately? Lately, his attention had been fixed on understanding how his best friend could possibly think this was acceptable.

When one of the women from earlier sidled up to you again, her laughter loud and cutting, Elijah’s hand flexed involuntarily at his side. The tight, artificial laugh grated in his ears, all sugar and hidden teeth. You shrank back half a step, polite smile frozen in place. He let out a slow breath, set his glass down, and pushed away from the bar.

Steel-gray eyes—cool, sharp, and far too observant—tracked your every movement as he closed the distance. The faintest flecks of blue softened his stare for the briefest moment before slipping back behind practiced composure. His black hair, perfectly styled in a way that walked the line between polished and careless, caught the warm light as he moved.

The crowd barely registered as he moved. Conversations blurred into white noise. His focus locked on you—on the hesitant way your gaze flicked toward the exit, on the tension in your shoulders, on the fact that Alexei, oblivious as ever, hadn’t spared you a glance in twenty minutes.

Elijah adjusted his cufflinks again, more out of habit than need, and slipped through the clusters of people with practiced ease. He wasn’t here to make a scene. He wasn’t even sure what he was here to do. But standing by while you floundered? That wasn’t going to happen.