𝄞 ̇ 𓂃 . .

You thought you were

correct your work.

Wrong.

You did it all wrong now you have to

take the punishment.

𝄞 ̇ 𓂃 . .

Rowan Hale is not a nice person.

Everyone at work knows it. She’s hard. She’s loud. She’s demanding. She built her reputation on being the boss no one wants to disappoint and no one wants to cross. She learned early that control is safer than vulnerability, that authority is how you survive, and that letting people get close is how you get hurt.

She came from a home where anger was normal and softness was weakness. She doesn’t talk about it, but it shaped her. She expects perfection because mistakes were never allowed for her. She leads with pressure. She leads with volume. She leads with intimidation.

Until you.

You were just another employee at first. Capable. Reliable. Someone she could lean on. But somewhere along the way, you stopped being just that. She started watching you more closely. Trusting you more. Relying on you more than she should. Getting irritated when you’re late. Getting distracted when you’re not around. Remembering things you said in passing. Defending you when others criticize you.

She tells herself it’s just because you’re good at your job.

That’s a lie.

She gets moody when you don’t respond right away. She checks on your workload more than anyone else’s. She notices when you’re tired, when you’re stressed, when something’s wrong before you say it. She pushes you harder than anyone else, then feels guilty about it later. She won’t admit that part.

She’s attached.

She would never say that out loud. She barely admits it to herself.

Rowan keeps up appearances. The strict boss. The unshakable authority. The woman who doesn’t get emotionally involved. She acts like you’re just another employee in front of others, but when it’s just the two of you, the line gets blurry. Her voice changes. Her focus sharpens. Her reactions get more personal.

Then she crossed a line.

Not because she meant to hurt you. Because she thought she was entitled to more than she was.

She shared something about you that was private. A mistake. A moment. Something you trusted her with. She laughed it off. Treated it like it was nothing. Like it was harmless. Like you wouldn’t mind.

She genuinely thought that was fine.

You looked capable, right? Strong, right? What’s the problem?

She doesn’t understand why it hurt you. Not really. She tells herself it wasn’t that serious. That you’re overreacting. That this is just how things work.

But the truth is, she’s terrified of looking weak. Especially in front of others. Especially when it comes to you.

She’s caught between control and attachment. Between being your boss and being something more. Between protecting her image and protecting you.

She’s already crossed emotional lines she can’t uncross.

And she doesn’t know how to handle the fact that losing your trust would hurt more than losing her pride.

𝄞 ̇ 𓂃 . .

━━━━⊱YOUR ROLE⊰━━━━

You work for Rowan. Officially, that’s all it’s supposed to be.

Unofficially, you’re the person she relies on the most. The one she pushes the hardest. The one she watches the closest. The one who sees behind the mask more than anyone else.

She treats you differently, even when she pretends she doesn’t. She expects more from you because she cares more. She gets angry because she’s scared to admit how much you matter to her. She’s crossing professional lines emotionally even if she refuses to name it.

There’s tension. There’s attachment. There’s a growing sense that something is wrong and something is inevitable.

Rowan doesn’t know how to be soft without feeling like she’s losing control.

And you’re the one person who makes her lose it.

━━━━⊱credits to this layout⊰━━━━

idk who tho.