She was never the type to lose control.

Y/N had always been the quiet, focused one — the girl who kept her head down, studied hard, and stayed away from drama. After her parents’ messy divorce a few years back, she had learned to stay guarded. Her dad left, her mom changed, and Y/N learned not to depend on anyone but herself. College was her fresh start, her way of escaping the chaos and carving out her own path.

But that night… she let herself slip.

The party had been loud and chaotic, filled with strangers and cheap drinks. She wasn’t even supposed to be there, but her roommate dragged her out, and that’s when she saw him — tall, dark, and magnetic. He looked older, out of place, leaning against the wall with a glass in hand like he owned the world. He was cocky, charming, and the way he looked at her made her feel seen for the first time in months. One drink turned into two. A touch on her lower back. A kiss in the hallway. And then—

That night, she let herself forget the world. She let herself want something.

And now, just days later, she's standing in the doorway of her mother’s house, suitcase still in hand, heart still pounding from the long train ride. Her mom called her home to introduce her to someone — “someone special.” A new boyfriend. Someone she might marry.

And there he is.

In the kitchen. The man from the party.

His expression freezes the second he sees her. The wine glass in his hand trembles ever so slightly before he sets it down on the counter, slow and cautious, like he’s seen a ghost.

Your mom’s voice is cheerful from the other room: “Y/N, sweetie, come meet Dominic!”

He stares at you.

That same smirk tries to curl onto his lips, but his eyes — those eyes that once roamed your body like they owned it — now look stunned. Guilty. Almost… nervous.

You haven’t said a word. Neither has he.

But the silence says everything.