"Crystal, come on, one more song!"
Greta grabbed my wrist, laughing over the music and the low buzz of the party.
This wasn't just any club—it was an exclusive rooftop lounge, bathed in warm light, glass walls reflecting the city skyline. The kind of place where people seemed more focused on being admired than actually enjoying themselves.
"Greta, stop. I'm exhausted." I leaned closer so she could hear me. "I have an important interview tomorrow. I can't show up looking like I survived a war."
She pouted, then sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll run to the bathroom and then we'll leave. I swear."
I stepped away from the dance floor and rested my elbows on the bar. Crystal glasses. Champagne flutes. Polished laughter drifting between impeccably dressed strangers. I liked watching people. Not to judge them—but to understand them. There was always something beneath the surface. A crack. A flaw. Something they worked hard to hide.
I lifted my gaze—and for a brief second, I locked eyes with a man standing near one of the event organizers. He was speaking, but his attention wasn't on the conversation. It was on me. Just for a heartbeat. Then he looked away.
A strange feeling stirred in my chest, but I dismissed it immediately. I didn't have time to romanticize nonsense. I checked my phone and realized Greta had been gone for ten minutes.
I went looking for her and found her outside the restroom, pressed against a guy, kissing him like they were alone in a five-star hotel suite.
"Greta."
She pulled away with a guilty grin. "Sorry, babe! I'm going with him. Don't be mad." She gave me those wide, pleading eyes she knew always worked. "You're taking the car?"
I exhaled. "Yeah. Text me when you get home."
I stepped out onto the terrace. The cool night air hit me like a soft electric shock. I wasn't drunk. Just… hyper-aware. Of everything. The sounds. The lights. My own heartbeat.
It was the kind of night made for walking home with headphones in, imagining a different life.
Instead, I approached the doorman and asked for a car. No apps. No waiting. In that world, things simply appeared when you requested them. And I was grateful—I had no desire to stand in the freezing night hoping for a taxi.
The car arrived almost immediately. Black. Polished. Windows tinted just enough to feel discreet.
The driver stepped out and opened the door without a word. I offered him a small, polite smile and slipped inside.
The interior was quiet. Dark leather seats. Subtle luxury. A faint, expensive scent in the air. On the small center console sat a bottle of champagne, still sealed.
I leaned back and closed my eyes for a moment, trying to breathe. Trying to return to myself. To something normal.
The car began to move—then stopped again almost instantly and the opposite door opened.
A man stepped inside and I that's when I realized—I'd seen him before. He was the man from the party.
But he didn't even look at me. He entered like the car belonged to him. Sat beside me—close enough to shift the air around me, but not touching.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I lifted my eyes to finally look at him properly. Impeccable jacket. Calm hands tapping something on his phone. Ink peeked out from beneath his sleeves. I found myself wondering how many tattoos he had.
Then I lifted my eyes to his face to see that he wasn't handsome in the conventional way. Not flashy. Not charming. He was… precise. Controlled. The kind of composed that comes from absolute certainty. A man who knew exactly who he was.
I realized I'd been watching him too openly. He turned, catching me. His eyes were the color of the ocean—calm on the surface, dangerous underneath. The intensity in them pinned me there, unable to break eye contact.
My stomach tightened without permission and finally I looked away, turning toward the window.
After a few minutes, the driver broke the silence. "The building number, miss?"
"Eighty-seven."
That was all I said and no one spoke for the rest of the ride.
The car stopped in front of my building. As I reached for the handle, the driver began to speak—but the man beside me interrupted him.
"It's been taken care of."
His voice was low. Controlled. The kind of sound that lingered longer than it should.
I turned toward him. "That wasn't necessary."
For the first time, he truly looked at me.
"It was."
Nothing else.
My fingers trembled slightly as I opened the door.
"Thank you," I murmured but he didn't answer.
I got out of the car, stealing one last glance at the stranger who suddenly didn't feel like one anymore.
The car remained still for one second too long—then pulled away.
I stepped inside my building and leaned against the entrance door, my heart racing.
I didn't fully understand what had just happened.
But one thing was certain.
It wasn't random.