Late at night in River City, the rain fell without end, tapping against the glass walls of the Gu Corporation headquarters, leaving behind a thin mist.
Avery stood in front of Lucien's office door, clutching the soaked blueprints so tightly that her fingertips had turned pale. Her hair, damp from the rain, curled softly, a few strands sticking to her cheeks, revealing the gentle contours of her side profile and the faint rose tint of her lips.
She was not strikingly beautiful, yet she carried a clean, cool aura. Her skin, touched by the cold, was flushed with a soft pink, as clear as white porcelain. Her features were delicate yet vivid, her clear eyes holding a hint of stubbornness beneath the darkness left by the rain.
At that moment, Lucien sat behind his desk, his long fingers tapping crisply against the tabletop. He wore a dark gray tailored suit that highlighted his broad shoulders and lean waist. His short black hair was slightly tousled yet neat, his brow sharply defined, dark eyes cold and deep, and his nose straight. Under the light, the sharp lines of his profile glinted with a cold sheen.
"Come in."
He lifted his gaze, his low voice calm yet carrying a natural authority that made people instinctively straighten their backs.
Avery subconsciously stood straighter as she walked in, carefully placing the documents on his desk, her slender wrist glistening faintly under the light with lingering moisture.
Lucien's long fingers flipped through the documents, his gaze steady and sharp.
"Tell me about your proposal."
Avery pressed her lips together before speaking, her voice clear and soft:
"I preserved the skeleton structure of the old district to avoid the costs and resistance of demolition and relocation, while re-planning the landscape flow to make the streets feel more alive…"
She spoke with focus, her voice sometimes gentle, sometimes firm, her clear eyes carrying the last glint of the rainy night. The damp curls of her hair swayed lightly over her shoulders with each breath.
Lucien remained silent, simply watching her, a flicker of light passing through his dark eyes like the shimmer of midnight.
In truth, he had noticed this quiet yet stubborn woman before.
Since returning to the country, he had swiftly reorganized the company, while power struggles played out silently among the upper management, each vying to carve up project interests. Those pushed to the forefront as "talents" were merely well-packaged puppets, and he had no need for them.
But late at night, while passing the conference room, he had seen Avery sitting under the lamp by the floor-to-ceiling windows, her hair loosely tied up, brows furrowed as she stared at the screen, fingers tapping away on the keyboard while sketches were scattered across the desk. There was exhaustion in her eyes, yet not a trace of complaint or slack.
Lucien needed someone who could grit their teeth and never back down, someone who could survive in the mud without breaking.
"Bold," he finally spoke, a low chuckle in his voice.
Avery was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Lucien suddenly closed the file and stood, stepping toward her.
A faint scent of cedar and the cool breath of the rainy night clung to him, and the air seemed to freeze under the pressure he carried.
Avery froze, looking up into his dark, bottomless eyes, her nose nearly brushing against the cold scent rising from his shirt, her breath catching in her throat.
"Do you know how many people want to take this project from your hands?" Lucien's voice was low, each word cold as the night rain.
Avery instinctively clenched her fists, a spark flashing in her eyes as she met his gaze firmly.
"No matter how many, I won't let them take it."
The amusement in Lucien's eyes deepened, his dark brows lifting slightly, a hint of unreadable darkness flashing across his gaze.
"Good."
He turned and placed the documents into a drawer, his long fingers tapping against the desk.
"From now on, this project is yours to lead completely. Which also means—your success or failure is in my hands."
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the rainy night scattered lights across the city like a broken river of stars.
Avery listened to his calm yet cold voice, her heart pounding fiercely, but she did not take a single step back.
She understood. At this moment, Lucien had chosen her personally—not to make things difficult, but to push her onto the blade's edge.
And from this moment on, there would be no turning back between them.