Chapter 5 The King in the Shadows

The office was cold - not from the temperature, but from the man who ruled it.

Elian Arden.

CEO of Arden Corporations. The man whispered about in underground circles, feared in boardrooms, and obeyed without question. People called him a king. Others - the devil in a suit. His beauty was unnatural, haunting. Sculpted features sharper than truth, with a jawline that looked like it could cut glass. But it was his eyes that silenced worlds - ice-blue, emotionless, like twin shards of a glacier.

And now, they were narrowed in lethal irritation.

"You *fool,*" he hissed, voice low and venomous. "I said I wanted an appointment with *Dr. Emily* - not a fucking substitute!"

The assistant trembled before him, barely able to breathe. "I-I tried, sir, but she's overseas and-"

"I don't want excuses. I want results. If my grandmother doesn't get the best, I will *end* your career. Do you understand me?"

The assistant nodded violently before scrambling out of the room.

Elian leaned back in his leather chair, jaw clenched. The veins in his hand twitched as he rubbed his temple.

But the fury dimmed slightly when his gaze shifted to the corner of the office.

There, on a plush sofa, sat a small child. A boy, no older than five. Legs dangling, a coloring book open on his lap, pencil gripped tightly in his tiny fist. His head of soft dark curls bobbed as he worked, tongue poking from the corner of his mouth in concentration.

"Myron," Elian called softly.

The boy looked up, wide-eyed and innocent.

"Yes, Daddy?"

The monster melted.

"Are you done with your letters?"

The boy held up the page proudly. "I made 'M' for *Mommy* and *Me!*"

Elian's expression twitched.

For just a second, the cold king looked... human.

He stood and walked to the boy, kneeling before him. "Good job," he said, brushing a strand of hair from Myron's face. "You're smarter than everyone in this damn building."

Myron giggled and hugged his father. "Are you still mad?"

Elian didn't answer immediately. He glanced out the window, the skyline of the city stretching into dusk.

"No," he finally said. "But I might be again if you don't finish the rest of those letters before dinner."

"Yes, sir!" Myron saluted playfully.

Elian stood again, back to steel, but something had shifted in his eyes - a hint of vulnerability buried deep beneath layers of power and pain.

And somewhere across the city... a woman named Mia was returning.

And Elian Arden had no idea just how much her return would *destroy and complete him.*