The rain had stopped a few hours ago, but it still showered a bit around town, as if it was drying its tears. I sat in my car, watching the tiny drops gather and slide off his windshield. I was contemplating whether I should drive quickly to meet Anna or not.

My pulse increased as I drove towards the cafe, although I didn’t know why. When I arrived, I spotted her before she saw me, as usual. Her brown hair was tucked behind her ears just as I always liked it. The corner of her mouth moved as she read something on her phone. She wasn’t dressed like someone trying to impress. She wore a simple pair of jeans with a light blue blouse, but she somehow caught the attention of everyone on the entire street. I stopped out of the car, my nerves buzzing. “Hey”, I said to her as I hugged her gently. She lifted her head and said, “You came. “

“Of course I came, “ I said without taking my gaze from her. We walked into the cafe, which smelled of espresso and warmth. We talked for hours and hours, losing track of time. Anna laughed easily; the sound made me feel young again, happy, and unburdened.

“So, you really don’t like your job?” she teased, stirring her drink.

“It’s not the job,” I said, leaning back. “It’s everything that comes with it, the expectations, legacy, all the… noise.”

“You sound like someone trapped in a castle.” Anna interrupted sadly.

“Maybe I am,” I added

“And yet, here you are, sneaking out to drink coffee with a stranger,” she said, eyes sparkling.

“Not a stranger,” I corrected. “Not anymore, not to me .”

Our eyes met. The world dimmed around us, leaving only that quiet moment, which was steady, charged, and dangerous.

Over the next few weeks, Anna and I saw each other more often. Walks in the park. Late dinners. Shared silences that said more than words could ever.

Anna brought out something in me, something I didn’t know I still had, the ability to feel without being judgmental. She brought me the freedom and love I had always craved. She listened when I spoke, teased me when I got too serious, and always looked at me as if she saw a man, not an heir.

One night, as we walked along the river, she said, “You’re different when you’re not around your family, right? I mean, the way you act freely around me and your eagerness to leave them all behind and spend time with me says it all.”

I glanced at her. “You noticed it too.”

“You’re lighter. Freer. Like the world isn’t sitting on your shoulders.”

I smiled faintly, looking into her eyes, I said. “That’s because it’s not when I’m with you.”

She looked away, blushing. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I might believe them.”

He stopped walking. “Then believe them.”

Our eyes held again, and though neither of us moved closer, the air between them hummed with everything we weren’t saying.

At home, the change in my behavior didn’t go unnoticed.

My mother, Eleanor Burking, watched me closely from across the dining table. The light in my eyes. The quiet hum under my breath when I thought no one was listening. It had been years since she’d seen me like that.

And it frightened her.

“James,” she said one evening, setting down her wine glass. “You’ve been out a lot lately, my son .”

I looked up from my plate. “I have important things to do.”

“Work?”

“Sometimes.”

She smiled tightly. “And the other times?”

My face met her gaze evenly. As I said to her, “ Personal.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Is there someone?”

I didn’t answer. I mean, I didn’t have to.

“Oh, James,” she sighed. “You know your father, he won’t stand for distractions right now. The merger talks are delicate, and—”

“Mom,” I interrupted softly. “Please don’t turn her into business.”

“Then there is a her.”

Silence.

Eleanor set her napkin down, her tone sharpening. “You need to end it before your father finds out.”

I shook my head and said, “No.”

“James, listen to me—”

“No,” I repeated, voice firmer this time. “You don’t even know her, you don’t know what she’s done for me .”

“And I don’t need to,” my mom snapped. “I know what your father will do if he finds out his only heir is running around with some—” She stopped herself.

My jaw tightened as I turned to her. “With some what, Mother?”

“—someone outside of your world,” she finished quietly. “You have responsibilities, James. You can’t risk everything for… feelings.”

“Maybe I don’t want your world,” I said as my voice started rising. “Maybe I’m tired of pretending it’s all I have, maybe I need to create my own world, a place I can be happy and no one can sit on my happiness .”

Eleanor stood up angrily. “You sound just like your grandfather before he ruined this family once already. Do you want to destroy everything we built?”

I stared at her, breathing heavily. “You mean everything you built. I never asked for this, no one cares about me, how I feel, how I’m coping .”

She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “James, please. I’m begging you. Cut her off before he finds out. Before it’s too late.”

Something inside me broke. I pushed my chair back, anger flashing through me.

“I can’t,” I said sharply and confidently. “Even if I could, I won’t.”

Her lips trembled. “Then you’ll lose everything.”

“Then maybe it’s worth it,” I whispered.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then she turned away, tears slipping silently down her cheeks. “You’re going to break your father’s heart, and you are going to break mine too,” she said quietly.

I exhaled, guilt warring with anger. “I never wanted to break anyone’s heart, Mom. I want mine to be mine.”

When my father appeared in the doorway, he looked like a storm ready to strike.

“What’s going on here?” Edward Burking demanded, his eyes darting between his wife’s tears and my face.

Eleanor wiped her face quickly. “It’s nothing, Edward.”

“Don’t lie to me,” he said. “I can hear you halfway across the house. What’s this about?”

James straightened. “It’s about me, as usual.”

Edward’s expression hardened. “What did you do?”

“Nothing you wouldn’t call disgraceful,” I said. “I met someone.”

The silence was immediate, sharp.

Edward’s voice dropped to a dangerous calm. “Someone?”

“Yes,” I said evenly. “Her name’s Anna.”

My father’s face turned red. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“You’ve known her how long?”

“Long enough.”

“Long enough to throw away your birthright for her?”

I stepped forward confidently, facing my father. “You think my birthright means anything if I’m miserable?” Alexander’s voice rose. “It means everything! The Burking legacy—”

“It’s not worth my life!” And before I could say something, my father slapped me right on my left cheek.

My mom flinched at the sound of the smack. The air between father and son crackled with years of unspoken resentment.

My father pointed a shaking hand at me. “You will end this nonsense, James. You will marry Clarissa, as planned, and stop this childish rebellion.”

I stared at him, still in shock that my father had raised his hand at me, and my mom stood there and watched him, the weight of generations pressing on his shoulders. “I’m not a child,” I said quietly. “And I’m done letting you live my life for me.”

My father lifted his hand and gave me another slap. “You ungrateful boy! Everything you have, everything we gave you. Your name, your wealth, your comfort, come from me! You think you can walk away?”

“If it means I can finally breathe, then yes.”

My mother gasped softly, but I didn’t back down.

My father’s voice turned to ice. “Then consider yourself no son of mine.”

The words cut through the air like a blade.

Eleanor turned sharply. “Alexander, no—”

But he was already walking out, slamming the door behind him.

I stood there frozen. My chest felt hollow; my throat was tight. My mother moved toward me, but I stepped back.

“Don’t,” I said quietly. “Just… don’t.”

Tears filled her eyes again. “He didn’t mean it.”

“Yes,” I shouted. “He did.” “You just stood there and watched him hit me, you said nothing in defense. Just let me be, “ I added as I turned away and left her.