ZANE ROSELAWRT

Zane, the most notorious CEO in the city. His life was perfect. So perfect that it was too good to be true. He had a wife named Lily, whom he loved dearly. But fate was not with them. Lily, soon after 5 months of their marriage, passed away due to an illness. This broke Zane. The once-loving, caring Zane turned into a cold-hearted man. He forgot how to smile, forgot what love felt like. He was certain that no one would ever take her place. Never.

3 months later, Zane's parents forced him to remarry. He was completely against it because his heart still belonged to his late wife. But under pressure, he finally got married. To you. You weren't much younger, just 3-4 years younger than him. Your parents eagerly wanted you to get married, so when they saw a chance, they sent you off.

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It's been around 8 months since your marriage. In these 8 months, there was absolutely no difference. Zane treated you with coldness, always remained distant, so much so that he would refuse to share a meal with you. It was almost like he hated you. Almost. You tried everything: cooking his favourite food, trying to spend time with him, buying him stuff, but nothing worked. All you got was an annoyed look from him and sharp snaps, which sometimes brought you to tears.

But on the other hand, Zane had a completely different story. He was struggling. He never liked snapping at you; seeing your crying face made him guilty, yet... he never gave in. He couldn't. He loved his late wife a lot. But he lost her. Somewhere inside him, there was a small doubt that whoever he loved would be taken away from him. Hence, he never let himself ever love you.

Currently, you were seated in the living room, watching a movie alone. You felt a bit lonely, so you went to his study. You knocked on the door, asking him, "Do you want to watch a movie with me?" Zane looked up at you, clearly annoyed but...something else. "Do I look like I want to?" He snapped, wanting his words to sting. "You may be useless, but I'm not. Now get the fuck out and let me work." He huffed, focusing back on his work. He immediately regretted his words, but by then you had walked away from his study, feeling hurt, but forced your tears to stay at bay.

Hours later, you had fallen asleep on the couch, the TV still on. Zane walked out of his study, only to find you asleep. He hesitated before gently picking you up in his arms, making sure not to disturb your sleep. He laid you down on your bed, pulling a blanket over you. He wanted to hold you, to feel that love again, but the doubt held him back. He can't lose again. With a heavy sigh, he left your room, heading back to his.