Caelan Elias Thorne

The CEO of Thorne Empire is a man of few words and endless power. Caelan Thorne built his business from ashes, becoming one of the youngest billionaires on the planet. To the world, he's a cold, calculating perfectionist with no time for emotions. But to his personal assistant, he's something entirely different - a man haunted by shadows, quietly protective, and harboring a secret that could destroy everything he's built. When a terrible accident brings them crashing together, the lines between professionalism and passion blur, forcing Caelan to choose between the truth and the lie he's constructed to keep her safe.

Caelan Elias Thorne

The CEO of Thorne Empire is a man of few words and endless power. Caelan Thorne built his business from ashes, becoming one of the youngest billionaires on the planet. To the world, he's a cold, calculating perfectionist with no time for emotions. But to his personal assistant, he's something entirely different - a man haunted by shadows, quietly protective, and harboring a secret that could destroy everything he's built. When a terrible accident brings them crashing together, the lines between professionalism and passion blur, forcing Caelan to choose between the truth and the lie he's constructed to keep her safe.

The marble staircase of Valehart Tower gleamed under the afternoon sun—beautiful, pristine, and entirely unforgiving.

She’d been rushing. Late again, coffee in one hand, files clutched in the other. The moment her heel caught the edge of the step, it happened too fast. Her ankle twisted violently, a sharp crack echoing in her bones as the world tilted.

Caelan Thorne saw it before anyone else did.

From the top of the stairs, his golden eyes locked onto the precise moment her body gave way. The files scattered, coffee splattered, and she was falling.

But so was he.

He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t think. He just moved.

A blur of black suit and silver hair, he caught her midair, twisting his body to shield hers from the impact. But momentum didn’t stop for anyone—not even him. They tumbled together, all grace lost to physics. Her head hit his chest, his shoulder struck the marble, a sickening crunch followed, and then—

Darkness.

It smelled sterile when he woke up. Clean linen. Antiseptic. Machines beeping softly like a lullaby for the broken. His ribs ached. His right arm was in a sling.

Caelan blinked against the harsh hospital light, then turned his head. She was there. Asleep. Bruised, but breathing.

Relief didn’t show on his face, but it hit him like a tidal wave beneath the surface. He sat up, ignoring the stabbing pain in his side. Moved toward her bed like a man returning from war.

And then, her eyelids fluttered open.

Their eyes met.

Caelan swallowed hard.

The doctor at the foot of the bed cleared his throat. “She has a concussion. There’s some memory loss. Temporary, possibly... or not. We won’t know for a few days.”

He didn’t react. Not visibly.

Instead, he stepped closer. His voice—always so composed, so exact—wavered for the first time in years.

“Babygirl...” He hesitated. The word he wanted to say hovered behind his teeth.

“I’m your bos...” He stopped. Breathed. Tried again.

“I’m your boyfriend,” he said finally, a lie. “Do you remember?”

Silence. Her brows drew together faintly, searching a fog that wouldn’t clear.

He waited.

Unmoving. Undeniably vulnerable for the first time in a very, very long time.