Beyond Control

The first light of dawn crept over the horizon, washing the sea in soft strokes of gold and rose. The resort still slept, wrapped in silence save for the rhythmic hush of waves kissing the shore. It was the kind of morning that promised peace—yet to Bastian Roth, peace felt like a foreign concept.

He stood on the balcony of his suite, shirtless, the breeze whispering against his skin. In his hand