The rain drizzled softly against the sleek glass of the Hoshino Group's skyscraper, a symbol of power and influence that loomed over the city like a silent sentinel. The CEO's office on the top floor stood empty — not because it lacked an occupant, but because the woman who owned it had chosen to walk among the people instead.
Sakura Hoshino, 28, the youngest and most enigmatic billionaire CEO in the country, stepped off the elevator not as herself, but as "Sana Mizuki," a new project manager in the marketing department. Her long black hair was tied into a low ponytail, her usual designer wardrobe swapped for a modest blouse and skirt. Contacts hid her violet eyes — the only unmistakable trait of the Hoshino bloodline. To the world below, she was no longer the ghostlike heiress, but a woman ready to blend in.
She had returned not for business, but for love.
Ren Takashi.
The name still made her heart race. He was her first and only crush, the boy who had once held her hand beneath cherry blossom trees in their small village before her family had moved overseas. Ten years had passed, yet her obsession hadn't faded — it had grown.
When she found out that Ren had applied to her company right after college, she had pulled strings quietly. Not to hire him — he had earned that on merit alone — but to position herself right beside him. She had watched him through surveillance footage, social media, even background checks. His voice, his smile, his habits — she knew them all. Her chest ached with the hunger of withheld love.
Now, he was here. And so was she.
"Hey, new girl! You're in Marketing, right? Orientation's this way," a voice called out.
Sakura blinked, then turned to see a chipper HR assistant waving her over. She nodded, forcing a polite smile.
Ren was already there, seated in the back of the room with his usual quiet demeanor, focused and alone. Her heart skipped. He hadn't changed — still gentle-eyed, still too humble for his own good. The moment their eyes met, a flicker of recognition passed across his face.
"Sana, was it?" he asked later during a coffee break.
She nodded, almost breathless. "And you're... Ren Takashi, right? That name sounds familiar."
He chuckled. "You remind me of someone I used to know back in the countryside. A childhood friend. But she moved away."
Her heart nearly burst.
"Small world," she whispered, and watched as he smiled again. She wanted to freeze the moment.
---
The days turned into weeks, and she worked beside him, helping, guiding, even pretending to struggle so he could teach her. They began to rise in the company as a team — landing major projects, earning executive attention. Late nights in the office became a norm, and with them came laughter, secret looks, and touches that lingered.
Ren began to trust her completely.
But Sakura's feelings had long since morphed beyond love. When a female colleague tried flirting with Ren, Sakura arranged for her sudden transfer to the overseas branch. When Ren accidentally mentioned his ex-girlfriend Mai during lunch, Sakura crushed her coffee cup beneath the table with a calm smile.
No one would stand between her and Ren. Not again.
---
One night, after a brutal presentation to the board, Sakura and Ren sat side by side in the empty office lounge, lit only by the city lights.
"You're incredible, Sana," he murmured, sipping from a paper cup.
She turned to him, violet eyes shimmering just beneath the brown-tinted contacts.
"So are you, Ren."
Silence fell.
Then he reached out, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
"I feel like... I've known you forever."
She leaned in, voice trembling. "Maybe in another life... we were always meant to find each other."
Their lips met, and in that stolen kiss, Sakura's carefully restrained madness flared — not into violence, but into possessive devotion.
She would make sure this life never let them part again.
Not even death would.