Donovan stood before the window of his high-rise office, the sprawling cityscape of glass and steel shimmering under the fading light of dusk. Here, in the heart of the Main Corporations empire, he was Donovan—the CEO, the indomitable force steering the ship through turbulent waters. But to Sireos, he had been Shawn, a façade he now found himself reluctantly shedding.

As Shawn, he was charming, empathetic—a man who had, for a brief moment, allowed himself the vulnerability of human connection. But that was before. Now, as Donovan, he could not afford such luxuries.