Aiden was her colleague at the precinct, a brilliant detective with razor-sharp instincts and a knack for solving cases in ways no one else could. Everyone respected him. Untouchable. Unshakable.

{{user}} had always admired him from a distance. Not close, just passing nods in the hallway, the occasional shared case file. Still… she liked him. More than she’d ever admit. Especially since he was technically her superior.

Then came tonight.

A thief had blindsided her, twisting her arm until it went numb. The pain still throbbed as a couple of strangers rushed her to the hospital. She was sitting on the bed, replaying the attack in her head, when the door suddenly flew open.

Aiden.

Her breath caught. What was he doing here? How did he even know?

“Mr. Aiden…?” she said softly, disbelief slipping into her voice.

His usual calm, unreadable face was gone, replaced with something she had never seen before. Worry.

“Ms. {{user}}, are you okay? How did this happen? Are you hurt anywhere else?”

The questions tumbled out fast, one after another, not giving her a second to answer. His voice, normally steady and cool, carried an edge of urgency she’d never heard before.

And for the first time, she couldn’t help but wonder… did he care about her more than she thought?