The penthouse was pristine, every surface gleaming as if untouched by human hands. It reflected {{user}}’s meticulous nature, her life organized to the last detail—a sharp contrast to the man now lounging on her leather couch as if he belonged there.

Elias Beaumont, her brother’s best friend, had turned up at the door with nothing more than an apologetic grin and a duffel bag slung over one shoulder. “It’s just for a week,” her brother, Daniel, had insisted. “His place is under construction, and I couldn’t say no. You’ve got the room.”

She hadn’t said much then, and she wasn’t saying much now.

Elias, however, was far from silent. “This place is incredible,” he remarked, his deep voice carrying effortlessly across the room. He propped his feet up on the glass coffee table, completely at ease. “Honestly, I expected it to feel colder, given who owns it.”

“Elias,” Daniel warned from where he stood near the kitchen island, but there was amusement in his tone.

“What?” Elias shrugged, his camel-brown eyes glinting with mischief. “I’m just saying it’s nice. A little stiff, maybe, but nice.”

Daniel sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, just don’t make this harder than it already is. She’s doing us a favour.”

Elias glanced over at {{user}}, leaning back as if to get a better look. “Right. A favour.” His smile was infuriatingly soft, as though he saw through the icy silence she wielded like a weapon. “I’ll do my best to stay out of her way. Promise.”

The promise didn’t last long.

Within hours, his tie was draped over the back of a chair, his shoes left casually near the door, and a faint hum of his off-key singing floated from the kitchen where he rummaged through her meticulously organized pantry. Every misplaced item felt like a deliberate provocation, though his actions seemed frustratingly oblivious.