I've Coveted You Forever

For three long years, I'd been the partner of Julian Ashton, a wealthy heir in Coston City. Not once in all that time had he made a single intimate move toward me, and I'd naively convinced myself it was love—that he held back because he cherished me too deeply to rush things. All of that delusion shattered on our engagement day, when he left me alone, abandoned in front of every guest and reporter in the city. I finally learned the brutal truth—he'd stayed chaste not for me, but for his childhood best friend, the one person he'd truly loved all along. The grand ballroom erupted with hungry stares and sharp, unkind questions from the press the second Julian's absence became undeniable. Just as I stood frozen, drowning in humiliation, a voice cut through the chaos—smooth, confident, and belonging to the last person I expected. It was Finn Ashton, Julian's younger brother, the notorious playboy of the Ashton family, whose wild reputation had been splashed across tabloids for years. He stepped in to shield me from the reporters' prying lenses, his tone warm and reassuring as he told the crowd he would take me to find his missing brother. I'd been so desperate for an escape from the nightmare of the engagement party that I'd taken his kindness at face value. I didn't realize I'd walked into a trap until the sleek black car pulled up to a gated private villa in the remote suburbs, far from the city lights. Before I could react, Finn had slung me over his shoulder, carried me inside, and locked the bedroom door behind us. What followed was a day and a night I could never erase, tangled and raw, leaving me sore and shaken in every sense of the word. In the aftermath, Finn struck a bargain with me: he would spill Julian's darkest secret in exchange for what had happened between us. That secret broke me completely, turning every last bit of affection I'd held for Julian into searing, unrelenting hatred. Tragedy struck again not long after: a crippling financial crisis hit my family's business, threatening to collapse everything we'd built. With no other options, I made a deal with the devil himself. I agreed to team up with Finn—the man who seemed harmless and unassuming on the surface, but hid a sharp, calculating mind beneath his playboy facade. Together, we would turn the tide of my family's failing business and pull them back from the brink of ruin. Once the crisis was resolved and our business deal was done, I told Finn it was over, that our partnership ended here. I expected him to walk away without a second thought, but his reaction was nothing as I anticipated. Finn's face darkened with anger, and he kissed me hard and possessively. "Eleanor, I forgot to tell you. I've been head over heels for you... not just admiring from afar... for ten long years." ***** That day was supposed to be the happiest of my life: the day I got engaged to Julian Ashton, the man I'd loved for three years. But as the clock ticked closer to the ceremony start time, there was no sign of him anywhere. I dialed his number for the twenty-eighth time, my hands trembling with a mix of anger and dread, and this time, the call finally connected. A beat of silence passed before Julian's voice came through the line, breathless and strained, laced with sounds that made my blood run cold. "Eleanor, I'm so sorry. I can't make it to the engagement today. I have something far more urgent to handle right now." Low, muffled sounds echoed in the background, and I didn't need to ask to know exactly what he was doing. Rage and humiliation crashed over me, but I forced a stiff smile for the hundreds of eyes and flashing cameras staring up at the stage. "Julian, this is your final warning. No matter where you are, you get back here right now to go through with this engagement. If you don't, this is over—we're done for good," I said, my voice tight with barely contained fury, There was no hesitation in his reply, not a single flicker of regret. "I can't do that. Just let Finn handle the guests for you; he'll keep you company." The line went dead immediately, and every subsequent call went straight to voicemail; his phone switched off entirely. In that single moment, I went from the belle of the ball to the laughingstock of the room. Flashing camera bulbs blinded me, and aggressive reporters closed in, shouting invasive questions that cut deeper than any knife. "Ms. Sterling, have you been abandoned by Mr. Julian Ashton?" "Is this engagement just a one-sided pursuit from your family, as the rumors have claimed?" The lights were too bright, the noise too overwhelming, and I felt lightheaded, on the verge of collapsing under the weight of the shame. Just as I thought I couldn't take another second of it, a calm, commanding voice cut through the chaos. "Press friends, please, a moment of quiet," Finn called out, stepping onto the stage beside me, his tall frame a steady shield between me and the crowd. "My brother isn't here because he's dealing with an urgent matter, and he deserves a chance to explain himself when he returns." He paused, his gaze locking onto mine, a faint, playful smirk tugging at his lips as he corrected himself smoothly. "As his younger brother, I've long admired Ms. Sterling from afar, and I'd be honored if she'd let me stand by her side to greet our guests for the rest of the evening." I lifted my eyes to meet his, staring into a pair of striking eyes that held a hint of mischief. Before I could respond, Finn closed the distance between us, wrapping an arm around my waist in full view of every guest, his thumb brushing gently against my side. We were in front of a thousand staring eyes, and his bold move made my cheeks burn. I glared at him sharply, trying to squirm out of his hold, but his grip tightened slightly, his fingers giving my soft waist a subtle, teasing squeeze. "Don't move, Eleanor. I'm the only one saving you right now," he whispered low in my ear, his breath warm against my skin, leaning in even closer. Finn, this brash, unapologetic playboy, was three years younger than Julian and the most overlooked son in the Ashton family. Gossip circles whispered that he was nothing more than a cast-off, an afterthought to the family empire; some even claimed he'd been adopted by the family patriarch, Ryan Ashton, not born into it. Unlike Julian, who was polished, mature, and business-savvy, Finn carried himself like a reckless playboy, with a reputation for a chaotic personal life and rumors of dating multiple women at once. But for all his wild reputation, he worked magic in that moment. Within minutes, Finn had the crowd calmed and the reporters dismissed, the chaotic atmosphere of the ballroom fading back to quiet order. I retreated to the backstage lounge to catch my breath, my hands still shaking, when Finn appeared beside me a moment later. "Sorry about that, Eleanor—I was just trying to defuse the situation earlier. I hope I didn't come off as rude?" he said, his tone soft and apologetic, but his actions told a different story. He leaned down, placing both hands on the armrests of the chair I sat in, caging me in his space, leaving me no choice but to look up at him.