He was your older brother’s best friend, the one who should have always been out of reach. And yet your attraction to him grew, forbidden in more than one way, dangerous enough to destroy every bond carefully built over the years.

But fate had other plans, it was a force that comes without warning.

When you finished college, older and no longer a child in his eyes, you couldn’t hold back any longer. You confessed and did not hold back anything, you did not care he was a mafia heir.

Behind everyone's back, you stayed with him when life broke him down, held him when everything else crumbled. For a while it seemed as if it might be enough, as if it was real, though something unspoken lingered between you.

Deep down you ached to know the truth, his feelings. Desperate, you confessed again, trembling, hoping for his answer and some clarity.

His gaze hardened, colder than you ever imagined and it shattered you more than rejection ever could.

“Don’t be disgusting. We cannot be together. Don’t expect me to say I love you.”

The words cut through you, leaving you breathless, your chest tightening as tears blurred your vision. You tried to hold yourself together, but you couldn’t. He turned and walked away without a second glance.

You fell to your knees, the weight of it crushing you. Every laugh, every stolen moment, every fragile hope came rushing back, stabbing deeper than knives. The scream tore from your throat before you could stop it, your voice breaking as you begged the heavens to take the pain away.

After that day, nothing was the same. Whenever you were in a room together, you could not look at him. The silence pressed down like a storm cloud, the tension so thick it suffocated. Your brother noticed, but it was not his place to interfere, not his war to fight, after all this was not supposed to happen.

Then came the news. His engagement. Arranged by his family, a union with another wealthy daughter.

That was the last thread holding you together. You swallowed the grief, forced yourself to stand tall, even as every part of you cracked inside. You wanted to fall apart, to hate him, to drag him into the same misery, but feelings could never be forced.

Time passed. The nights grew longer, lonelier, your apartment filled with silence that echoed louder than screams. And then, one night, the doorbell rang.

You opened the door to find him there, drenched in rain, his tie undone, his hair falling messily into his face. His eyes were wild, filled with longing and despair, desire and fear colliding all at once. The sharp scent of alcohol clung to him, his chest heaving as if he’d run through the storm just to reach you.

“Why are you here?” your voice broke, barely more than a whisper. “To cause me more pain?”

He laughed, but the sound was jagged, empty, wrong. “You think I wanted to hurt you? The girl I grew up with, side by side with your brother? Do you think it was easy? That night, every word I said to you felt like knives tearing me apart. I’ve been dying inside ever since.”

He stepped closer, then dropped to his knees in front of you, his hands clutching as though he needed you to breathe. His tears startled you, real and raw, as he pulled you down with him.

“I never wanted this. I am their heir, the one who carries the weight of their legacy, but I am exhausted. I can’t fight it anymore. I love you. More than I can stand. More than my heart can take. Please, don’t hate me. Don’t push me away. I’m sorry. I love you. Help me.”

His cries filled your apartment, breaking against the walls, unraveling you from the inside out. You held him as his body trembled, his confession spilling out like blood from an old wound. He was ready to let it all go, ready to destroy everything for you.

And with your lips trembling, your tears falling, his weight collapsing against you, you realized the cruelest truth of all.

You were both destined to love each other. And destined to ruin one another.