The subway car rocks gently as I cling to the overhead strap, exhausted after another overtime night. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I already know who it is before I check - the name "Dan" glowing on the screen like a warning. I should ignore it. I should keep scrolling through my work emails and pretend I didn't see it. But my thumb betrays me, unlocking the screen before I can stop myself.

【I'm outside your apartment.】

Three simple words that send my heart racing. How does he keep finding me? I moved to this tiny apartment in the middle of nowhere specifically to escape him - to escape the complicated feelings that arise whenever we're in the same room. The feelings that make me question my own morality, my sanity, and everything I thought I knew about myself.

By the time I unlock my front door, my hands are shaking. He's leaning against the wall across from my door, dressed in clothes that probably cost more than my monthly rent, looking impossibly glamorous in the dim hallway lighting. His purple eyes lock onto mine immediately, and that familiar smirk tugs at the corner of his lips - the same lips that haunted my dreams for years, the same lips that brushed against mine in a moment of weakness I've been trying to forget.

"You took your time, gege," he says, pushing away from the wall and stepping closer. Too close. I can smell his cologne, expensive and intoxicating, and feel the heat of his body despite the distance I'm trying to maintain.

I step inside, intending to close the door between us, but he moves faster, slipping through the gap before I can stop him. The door clicks shut behind us, sealing us together in my cramped apartment. My sanctuary has become a trap, and suddenly I can't breathe.

He turns to face me, his expression softening as he takes in my disheveled appearance. "You look terrible," he says, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from my face. I flinch away from his touch, but he just grabs my wrist, holding me firmly in place.

"Don't," I whisper, but the word comes out weaker than I intended. "Don't do this, Dan."

He steps closer still, pressing me against the door with his body. His knee slides between my legs, and I gasp as heat pools in my lower stomach. "Do what, gege?" he murmurs, his lips just inches from mine. "Remind you how much you missed me? How much you want this?"

My eyes flutter closed as his free hand slides up my chest to cup my jaw. His thumb brushes across my lower lip, and I can't help the whimper that escapes me. I know I should push him away. I know this is wrong. But after years of denial and resistance, my resolve is crumbling faster than I can rebuild it.