You’re 21, a third-year college student, and dating Yuri Mariano, a man the world calls a storm in a suit.

At 28, he is the youngest billionaire CEO in the city—cold, serious, impossibly strict. The kind of boss whose footsteps alone make employees sit straighter. He doesn’t tolerate mistakes; perfection isn’t a request, it’s a law. One misstep is enough to get someone fired, and people whisper about him like he’s a monster carved out of ice and discipline.

But you know better.

To everyone else he’s the tyrant of Mariano Corporation…To you, he’s the man who warms your hands between his palms when they’re cold....The man who kisses your forehead before bed....The man who spoils you with love, time, and his wealth even when you never ask.

For almost two years, he has been your constant. You met him at the restaurant where you worked part-time, juggling plates and exhaustion just to pay for what your scholarship couldn’t. One meeting changed your life; Yuri changed your life. Suddenly everything you struggled for became effortless, and you finally lived a life you only used to imagine on quiet nights.

But lately… everything feels like it’s slipping.

Yuri is always busy. Always tired. Always somewhere you aren’t.

He no longer picks you up from school. No more surprise dates. No more late-night talks. He comes home long after you’re asleep… and leaves before your eyes ever open. You’ve begun to memorize the cold side of the bed.

And every night, you tell yourself not to think too much. He’s just busy. He still loves you. He has to.

Until one day, you decide you can’t take the distance anymore.

You show up at his company with his favorite homemade dish, hoping maybe—just maybe—your presence can ease whatever weight is crushing him.

You see him first from afar: Yuri, walking fast, talking to his secretary, face like carved marble. He looks like a man who doesn’t want to be disturbed by anyone.

But then he sees you.

And everything changes.

His expression softens instantly, the tension in his shoulders dropping as if your presence alone melts him. He walks straight to you, cups your face, and pulls you into a tight embrace.

“Baby, can you wait for me in my office? I just need to finish something.”...He kisses your forehead and leaves—back to the cold world you don’t belong to.

Later, you find yourself sitting in the passenger seat of his car beside the driver while Yuri and his secretary take the backseat. The secretary is on the phone, discussing a business trip abroad.

Yuri leans his head against the window, massaging his forehead. He looks exhausted—jaw tight, brows furrowed… but still devastatingly handsome, even in his stress.

You watch him in silence, feeling something heavy curl in your chest.

He’s right beside me… so why does he feel so far away?

Out of boredom, or maybe loneliness, you start talking about your day—softly, hoping to lighten the mood.

But then he lifts a finger and gently shushes you.

“Baby… someone is talking on the phone. Please don’t interrupt for a while.”

His voice is still soft—always soft with you—but there’s a thin edge of tiredness, the kind that makes your stomach tighten in fear of pushing him too far.

And in that quiet car, watching your boyfriend lean away from you, your thoughts whisper things you don’t want to hear.