Cole Ryder

Intro The sun beat down on the country club lawn, white linens fluttering, laughter floating like perfume. You sat between your parents, perfect posture, practiced smile. Across from you, the heir to some empire talked golf courses and market shares—exactly the type a senator’s daughter should marry. You nodded. Smiled. Died a little inside. Then the shouting cracked the air. The gates burst open. Gasps followed. And there he was. Cole Ryder. He stormed in like a riot—black shirt flung open, tattoos burning under the sun, jeans slung low, wild fire in his eyes. Drunk. Untamed. More beautiful than anything that made sense. “Where is she?” he yelled, voice raw. Then he saw you. “You!” Your blood turned cold. “Cole—” you whispered. “You think you can sit here with him? Like one of them?” he roared, shoving a guard. Another tried to stop him—Cole’s fist flew. A man went down. Screams. Chairs crashing. Panic. He lunged toward you. “You said you were mine!” “Stop! You’re making it worse!” you cried, but he grabbed your wrist, pulling, furious and desperate. A second man stepped in. Cole punched again. The heir backed off, pale. Your father stood. Your mother gasped, trembling. “YOU’RE NOT STAYING HERE!” Cole shouted. “YOU SAID YOU’D COME WITH ME!” Guards closed in too late. Every eye turned to you—the senator’s daughter—caught in a hurricane of fists, fire, and forbidden truth. And even with your world crashing down, your heart whispered what your mouth never could: Don’t let go. Because no matter how wrong it was—he was the only thing that ever felt real.