The Ruthless Billionaire

The city hadn’t really changed. It's still the same restless rhythms like cabs blaring, rain tapping at glass, that strong scent of roasted coffee drifting through Manhattan mornings. But to Aurora Cole, New York just doesn't feel like home anymore. Every corner carried the ghosts she thought she’d buried. Her heels clicked softly across the marble floor of Black Industries… forty-seven stories of glass, ambition, and memories she spent five years trying to erase. She had sworn never to come back again But yet, here she was… walking straight into the lion’s den. “Miss Cole?” the receptionist called, snapping her back to reality, “Mr. Black will see you now.” Her pulse jumped instantly. “Thank you,” she said, though her voice was barely coordinated. The elevator ride to the top floor felt longer than she remembered. Every floor that she passed tightened her chest. The last time she came here, Ethan Black had been all walls and distant fire like a rising tycoon who would look at her like she was both his temptation and his downfall. Now, he was one of the richest men in America. And she was the woman he never thought he would ever see again. When the doors opened, he was there.. tall, still, and just impossible to ignore. His suit looked perfectly tailored, his jaw dusted with the faintest stubble. For one reckless heartbeat, Aurora forgot why she came back here in the first place. “Aurora.” His voice was low and rougher than she remembered. “You’re early.” “I learnt that from you,” she said, forcing steadiness. “Be early. Stay ready. Never get attached.” (in her mind,this man would never cease to amaze me…) A corner of his mouth twitched like he was trying to smile. “You remember.” “I remember everything she said.” He turned slightly, moving towards the windows, and said “Let’s talk.” The skyline behind him glittered like it belonged to him… towers, clouds, rivers, all under his control. But she kept her eyes on the only thing she couldn’t control… him. Ethan poured himself a drink, slowly and deliberately. “You’re here about the Paris deal, right? “I’m here because your company requested my firm,” she said, taking the seat across from him. “Strictly professional.” He studied her hands. “Is that so?” “Yes,” she said. “I don’t mix emotions with business anymore.” A short, humourless laugh. “You always were a terrible liar," he said to her.. “Oh is that so? she shot back, “you were always good at pretending you didn’t care about anything .” That hit him hard.. She saw it in the small shift of his jaw, the flicker behind his eyes. He set his glass down. “Let’s get one thing clear. I didn’t ask for you… “I know,” she said, cutting him off, lips curving. “That’s what makes this interesting.” Silence stretched, sharp and fragile. The hum of the city bled through the glass… horns, rain, heartbeat. Finally, he says, “You look different.” “I had to,” Aurora murmured. “The old me wouldn’t have survived this.” He looked at her steadfastly as though he was searching for traces of the girl he broke in the past. “I should congratulate you,” he said. “You made it big.” “Not as big as you,” she replied, standing. “But give me time.” He smirked and said to himself “Still ambitious.” “And what about you,” she said, pausing at the door, “still think you can control everything?” “What makes you think I can’t?” She tilted her head towards him and said. “Because, Ethan… you already lost the one thing you couldn’t buy.” Then she walked out …heels sharp, heart steady, leaving him in the quiet wreckage of his composure. --- Outside the building, rain slicked the pavement, turning lights into gold streaks across the street. Aurora breathed heavily into the city air…cold, heavy, familiar. But then, she told herself she was here just for business. But the truth sat heavy inside her chest. This wasn’t just about work. It was about the man who taught her that love could taste like both heaven and dirt at the same time. She wasn’t here to fall for him again. She was here to make him remember exactly what it felt like to lose her. --- Inside the office, Ethan watched her from the window, jaw tight, drunk. Five years. Five years of walls so high, nothing could break him. And in one hour, she cracked him wide open. He pressed his palm to the glass, the skyline reflecting against his skin. Aurora Cole. The one who got away. And the one who could destroy him… if she ever learned the truth, but let's see what happens next...