Rowan woke up before the alarm. The room was silent, except for the faint tick of the luxury wall clock situated on the wall. The quiet hum of the city awakening did nothing to quiet the image already burned into his mind.
For a moment, he lay still, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom as the faint grey light of early morning slipped through the tall windows. He took in a deep breath and exhaled trying to slow his heart down. For five years, the woman in his dreams had been nothing more than smoke, shadow and quiet whisper of a sacred name. Last night, the flames had finally given her a face.
And the worst part was—
He had seen that face before.
Those familiar emerald-colored eyes and pale skin that contrasted with her raven-black hair. That confident posture and a gaze that refused to be put down by her circumstances. Now that he had seen it, the image in his mind refused to fade.
It had been five years since the dreams began. Five years of smoke and flames that refused to leave him, twisting through his sleep like ghosts. The same suffocating heat. And always—
The woman.
But she never had a face—that was until last night. Rowan exhaled slowly and pushed himself upright, his gaze sliding to the glass walls of his bedroom. The city stretched beyond the glass, endless towers cutting into the pale morning sky. Normally, the sight grounded him. It reminded him of the order he had built into his life.
Control.
Routines.
Logic.
And dreams had no place in it. That's why he had ignored the dreams, but the image returned regardless. Her face—clear and unmistakable.
Aurelia Thorne.
Rowan stood, walking to the window and sliding a hand through his hair as if the gesture could somehow clear his mind. It was a coincidence.
That's all it was.
She was a stranger he had seen at a crowded event, nothing more. His mind had simply attached a face to an old dream. That happened sometimes...right?
He knew how absurd he sounded, so he decided to think that way to make himself feel better. Still, something about the memory refused to settle.
The way the flames had parted, and the voices had called out.
Not Aurelia.
Never Aurelia.
Rowan turned away from the window sharply, already annoyed with his mind for lingering on the thought. He moved through his morning routine with autonomous precision. Shower. Suit. Coffee. By the time he stepped into the private elevator that would take him down from his penthouse to the waiting car, the familiar mask of calm had already settled back into place.
And by the time he arrived at the Valemore headquarters, Rowan looked exactly as he always did—unshaken, controlled, and untouchable. When he entered the office, Caleb was already waiting for him with his digital tablet in hand.
"Good morning, Sir."
Rowan nodded briefly, settling his briefcase on the desk. "Morning."
Caleb began listing the day's schedule, flipping through the tablet in his hand. "Board meeting at nine, conference call with the Zurich partners at eleven, and—"
"The woman from last night," Rowan interrupted before he could stop himself.
Caleb paused.
"The anniversary dinner," Rowan clarified casually, picking up a document from his desk as if the question held no particular importance. "The one Harrington introduced." He hinted subtly without mentioning her name.
Recognition flickered across Caleb's face.
"Ah, Ms. Thorne."
Rowan looked up slightly.
"Thorne?"
"Yes, sir. Aurelia Thorne. She's the heir to the Thorne Group." Caleb finished as the name settled in Rowan's mind with quiet weight. Of course, he knew the company. The Thorne Group had been mentioned more than once in board discussions over the years. But the name itself wasn't what held his attention.
It was something else—something older.
Something buried inside five years of restless sleep and dream-buried emotions.
How exhausting.
Rowan thought as he leaned back slowly in his chair. In the dream, the voice never called her Aurelia. Through the smoke, flames, and various other snippets of memories, it only ever cried out one name.
Relia.
Rowan stared past Caleb towards the glass wall overlooking the city. Five years of fire—of knowing a name that meant nothing.
Until now.
He tapped a finger once against the desk.
"Caleb."
"Yes, sir?"
"Find out everything you can about Aurelia Thorne."
---
And at the same time, in another part of the city, someone was getting ready to travel.
Three years in Halden with an Advanced executive certification and direct management over Thorne's Coastal Holdings. It wasn't exile, but proof. The board would never say it directly, but she had heard the careful phrasing.
She's promising.
She's young and active.
Perhaps she needs... seasoning.
That word "seasoning," It hurt and she hated it. A frown marred her otherwise emotionless face at the memory.
She had been ten when her parents died in an accident that was supposed to take all three of them. She wasn't even allowed to mourn properly when the headlines turned her life into a cautionary tale, and soon enough, she learned that sympathy fades faster than power shifts. Then her aunt swooped in — steady and protective, to save the company from falling into the wrong hands. It had survived, and now, so had she.
Halden wasn't about education. For her, it meant space — for her thoughts and future, and it was also about leverage. By the time she returned, she would not be the girl who inherited Thorne.
She would be the woman who brought it to great heights.
And they would have no choice but to respect her.
She went about her day's work, pushing every other thought to the back of her mind. Her work wasn't going to do itself.
---
The sun was already high up in the sky, and it was lunch time when Aurelia's phone buzzed. It was Nadia—her best friend. The only one person who crawled their way into Aurelia's heart after she had shut herself out in high school.
-Hey, you free? 😁
Aurelia considered behaving like she hadn't seen the message when her phone buzzed again — twice.
-I know you saw this.
-Let's have lunch. 😘
She let out a light chuckle and face-palmed. It was like Nadia could see through her and her thoughts. She finally replied
- Where?
She brought out her mirror to check on herself when her phone buzzed again, then she stood up, taking her suit off the rack and her phone. She made her way out of the office, nodding at the employees she had passed on her way out.
Her lunches with Nadia, were always a bright point she had looked forward to even though she behaved indifferent. The café was stylish in a way that felt effortless, it was all neutral tones and soft music. It was also a walking distance away from the company but not a lot of employees came here for lunch, so Aurelia felt a bit comfortable with the place.
On entering, she spotted Nadia already seated at the corner of the cafe, sunglasses propped up on her chocolate brown hair. Her blue eyes lighting up when she saw Aurelia coming her way.
"You know, I was starting to think work kidnapped you again," Nadia commented standing up to pull Aurelia into a quick hug.
"You know me too well," Aurelia smiled.
Once they settled into their seats, Aurelia ordered for them and Nadia immediately launched into a story about a last-minute wardrobe disaster that nearly derailed an entire shoot. Nadia was in the Fashion and Entertainment Industry, and her world was fast-paced and dramatic. It was filled with personalities that clashed loudly and often.
For a little while, Aurelia let herself sink into her story.
It felt nice—being away from work, and peaceful.
She enjoyed it—these peaceful moments.
As the time went on, she talked about the Halden Program to Nadia and how long she was staying over there. And unlike any other best friend, Nadia advised her to ditch school and go to a bar. Then went on to talk about how boring and bland Aurelia's love life looked like.
The victim in question, just sat there taking in all the information about herself from her so-called bestie. "But seriously, you need to go out for once," Nadia commented again before sipping her coffee while Aurelia just hummed in response.
It wasn't that she didn't want to go out, but...Wait who was she kidding?
She didn't want to go out because going out meant men, and men meant emotions, and emotions meant heartbreak, which could lead to a serious failure to see things logically.
And Aurelia, only thinks with logic—and logic alone.
So, for the time being, she wasn't going to be distracted and was only going to focus only on her work.
If only she knew.