hidingwriter

Elian Volkov, a world-renowned model and actor with striking emerald-green eyes, has everything-fame, fortune, and admirers across the globe. But beneath the glitz and glamour, he longs for the one person who once made his world feel real: Taro Fujimura, his childhood best friend from Japan. Years have passed without contact, but Elian never forgot their bond. Determined to reunite, he travels to Japan unannounced, showing up at Taro's doorstep with nothing but memories and a hopeful heart.

Taro, now a hardworking manager at a small branch of an international company, has built a modest but stable life with his mother and sister. The sudden reappearance of Elian-a man who now belongs to an entirely different world-shakes him to his core. As he struggles to process their reunion, lingering emotions and unspoken words from the past resurface, challenging everything he thought he had moved on from.

However, Elian's return does not go unnoticed. A powerful billionaire with haunting ruby-red eyes, obsessed with claiming Elian as his own, watches from the shadows. With wealth, influence, and a dangerous level of obsession, he is willing to do whatever it takes to keep Elian by his side-even if it means tearing him away from Taro once again.

As love, desire, and obsession intertwine, Elian finds himself caught between two forces: the warmth of a long-lost friendship that could bloom into something more and the intoxicating pull of a man who refuses to let him go. In a world where love can be both a treasure and a curse, will Elian follow his heart, or will the past and present collide, leading to a fate neither of them expected?

Toxic Gems is a story of rekindled bonds, dangerous attraction, and the fine line between love and possession.

TOXIC GEMS (BL)

The quiet of the gallery felt too thick, too deliberate. Each piece of art was displayed with precision, yet Elian could feel Rylan's gaze more than the weight of the paintings.

Elian stopped in front of an oil painting—something abstract, deep strokes of red slashing across a muted background. It felt violent. Unrestrained.

A slow exhale ghosted near his ear.

Rylan's voice was low, silk laced with iron. "What do you see?"

Elian didn't turn his head. "Desperation."

A slow chuckle. Rylan liked that answer.

"Interesting," he murmured. "Most people see passion."

Elian finally glanced at him. Their faces were close. Rylan hadn't backed away. He wasn't going to.

The way he looked at Elian—it wasn't admiration. It was something far deeper, far darker. **Something that didn't just want to hold—**it wanted to own.

Elian had felt desire before. But this?

His fingers curled at his side, the only sign of tension he allowed himself. He needed to play this carefully.

"You seem awfully interested in what I think," Elian said lightly. "Are all your guests questioned like this?"

Rylan smiled. The kind that wasn't meant to reassure.

Rylan reached for a wine bottle resting on a sleek side table. The rich, deep red poured into crystal glasses—the same shade as the painting, the same shade as something dangerous.

Elian met his gaze. Accepted. Took a small sip. Didn't flinch.

Rylan's smirk widened, like he'd just confirmed something.

Elian was starting to understand the rules of this game.

The glass was taken from his hand—Rylan's fingers brushed against his. Lingering. Intentional.

"You're a fascinating man, Elian."

Elian's breath was steady, but inside, his mind was already calculating his next move.

Because this wasn't just interest anymore.

Chapter 35 – The Unseen Chains