Irene_Fejiro

In the heart of a bustling modern city, two worlds collide.

Emilia Stone is the poised and polished heiress to a powerful corporate empire. She lives a life of elegance, expectations, and control—where love is an accessory and vulnerability is a weakness. But beneath the designer dresses and media-perfect smile lies a woman who craves something real.

Sebastian Lores is everything she’s been warned about—rough around the edges, fiercely independent, and unapologetically working-class. He fixes engines by day and minds his own business by night… until a spilled coffee and a sharp-tongued heiress turn his routine upside down.

Their worlds could be different, but their chemistry is undeniable.

As passion ignites between them, Sebastian and Emilia must navigate not only their growing desire, but the harsh glare of judgment, secrets from the past, and the dangerous game of falling for someone completely off-limits.

Will their forbidden flame burn them both—or forge something that can’t be broken?

Forbidden Flame.

Three days later, Emilia touched down in Prague beneath an overcast sky, her mind already racing ahead of the jet's wheels. The city was grey and cold, but she thrived in climates like this—places where no one expected warmth.

Her team had arranged a sleek, discreet suite at the Charles Legacy Hotel. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the Vltava River, but Emilia didn't spare them a glance. The real view that mattered sat neatly inside her leather portfolio: financials, investor pressure points, and the precarious future of a tech subsidiary known as Veltrix—Stone & Ward's next test.

Tasha had arrived before her and was waiting in the suite with updates.

"There's friction," she said without preamble. "The Veltrix founder, Emil Novak, is young. Brilliant. Stubborn. And not thrilled about a takeover."

Emilia peeled off her coat. "Perfect. That makes two of us."

Tasha blinked. "You're not here to buy him out?"

"I'm here to win him over," Emilia replied, walking to the desk. "Veltrix isn't just numbers—it's innovation. If we want longevity, we need thinkers, not just profit margins."

Tasha smiled faintly. "Your father would've bulldozed him."

Later that evening, Emilia entered the high-rise office of Veltrix with velvet armor: a tailored navy dress, red lips, and eyes that had seen too many boardrooms to be underestimated.

Emil Novak stood at the window, young and wiry, with sharp Slavic features and the weary defiance of a man who'd built something from nothing.

"You're earlier than I expected," he said without turning.

"I'm rarely late," Emilia replied. "And I don't like surprises."

He turned slowly, eyes appraising. "Then this meeting may disappoint you."

She smiled, just enough to challenge. "I doubt that."

The conversation that followed was anything but polished. He questioned her intentions. She dissected his projections. For every statistic he threw her way, she countered with vision. For every flare of ego, she met him with reason—and an edge that reminded him she wasn't just a pretty face in power heels.

By the time the meeting ended, neither had said yes. But Emil Novak didn't tell her no, either.

And as she walked out into the cold Prague night, Emilia felt a strange fire in her blood.

Chapter 16