#brokenheart

All the time, actually.

In the morning, at night,

in the middle of my day. It's you.

A knight of the seven kingdoms: boss!Maekar x secretary!reader

chapter one — first day

summary: You worked too hard to earn your place at Targaryen Corporation just to be seen as “Maekar Targaryen’s fiancée.” But on your very first day, it becomes painfully clear that no one in the building sees you as anything else. Especially not him.

word count: 3.5k

Tags/Warnings: modern AU, fiancé!Maekar Targaryen, office romance, arranged engagement, unrequited love, emotional angst, rich heir Maekar, employee!reader, workplace gossip, power imbalance, emotionally unavailable Maekar, jealousy themes, awkward affection, reader is painfully in love, mutual pining (eventually), slow burn, hurt/no comfort (for now), neglect, possessiveness, class difference vibes, mentions of Maekar’s girlfriend Diana, emotional repression, yearning, tension, overthinking, reader trying her best, unhealthy attachment, “it’s just business” type beat, subtle toxicity, corporate setting, rain imagery because i said so

A/N: trying something painfully dramatic again because apparently maekar targaryen and emotional suffering belong together reader is literally fighting for her life every time this man says “fiancée” casually. anyway this fic is going to be VERY frustrating so good luck to all of us.

The rain still hadn’t stopped.

Water trailed slowly down the tall glass windows overlooking the skyline, while the twenty-eighth floor of Targaryen Corporation remained painfully bright under cold white office lights. The sounds of keyboards, ringing phones, and heels clicking against carpet echoed through the afternoon like background noise no one paid attention to anymore.

You sat behind the same desk you had occupied for almost three years now.

Executive assistant to Maekar Targaryen.

His secretary.

His fiancée.

Or at least—that was what the headlines liked to call you.

Stacks of documents sat neatly beside your computer monitor, color-coded schedules open across two different tabs. Maekar had six meetings today, two investor interviews, and a dinner with the board at eight.

You remembered all of it without needing to check twice.

“Ms. y/n, legal sent over the revised contracts.”

“Thank you. Just leave them here.”

You offered the intern a polite smile before immediately flipping through the paperwork. Everything was normal. Predictable. The same exhausting cycle your life had been trapped in for years.

“Did Mr. Targaryen get his coffee yet?”

Another assistant leaned over your desk quietly.

You glanced at the time.

3:36 PM.

“I’ll take it myself.”

You stood, grabbing the black ceramic mug from your desk before walking toward the pantry near the back hallway. The smell of roasted coffee filled the air as the machine hummed softly in front of you.

You stared at your phone while waiting.

No new messages.

Nothing.

With a quiet sigh, you turned the screen off again.

At some point, your relationship with Maekar had slowly changed.

You used to chase after him constantly—memorizing his schedule, waiting outside meetings, staying late just to make sure he’d eaten something before midnight.

Now, you barely spoke unless it was work-related.

And honestly?

It was easier this way.

Easier than waiting for him to look at you the same way he looked at Dyanna Dayne.

Easier than pretending those photos online didn’t hurt.

Easier than hoping.

The coffee machine beeped softly.

You picked up the mug and headed back toward your desk—

Only to stop the moment you turned the corner.

Maekar was standing there.

Tall. Exhausted. One sleeve rolled halfway to his elbows, silver hair slightly messy like he’d run his hands through it too many times today. He was leaning against your desk while scrolling through your tablet as if it belonged to him.

“Since when do you go through other people’s things without asking?”

Your voice was calm as you approached.

Maekar looked up immediately.

His pale violet eyes settled on you in silence.

“I pay your salary.”

“That doesn’t mean you own everything.”

You placed the coffee down in front of him.

He glanced at the mug, then back at you.

“You added sugar.”

“You’ve been in meetings for six hours straight.”

“I drink americanos.”

“And you’ll get a migraine by five.”

You answered without looking up from the documents in your hands.

Silence.

Then the quiet scrape of movement as Maekar casually sat on the edge of your desk like he had every right to.

You sighed instantly.

“Get off the desk, Maekar.”

“It’s technically my desk.”

“No, accounting approved the budget for it.”

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Barely a smile.

You hated that you still noticed things like that.

“Are you leaving early tonight?”

The question made you pause.

Because it wasn’t about work.

And Maekar almost never asked questions that weren’t about work.

You finally looked at him.

“Why?”

“Answer me first.”

“That depends on how much more you plan on using me tonight.”

Your tone stayed perfectly polite.

Too polite.

Maekar stared at you for a moment before taking a sip of coffee.

“You’ve been talking to me differently lately.”

A quiet laugh escaped you.

“Oh? Was I supposed to stay sweet forever?”

“You used to be.”

The answer came too quickly.

Too honest.

Both of you seemed to realize it at the same time.

Maekar looked away first, turning toward the rain-soaked city outside the windows.

“When we first got engaged, you never argued with me.”

You stared at him for a long moment before answering quietly.

“When we first got engaged, I was younger.”

Young enough to believe that loving him hard enough might someday make him love you back.

Young enough to wait outside his office until midnight just to walk him home.

Young enough to break every time Dyanna’s name lit up his phone screen.

Now?

You were just tired.

The silence stretched between you until his phone vibrated suddenly across the desk.

You didn’t even need to look.

Because Maekar’s expression changed immediately.

Softer.

Warmer.

Like it always did.

Dyanna.

He answered the call almost instantly.

“Hey.”

Even his voice sounded different.

Gentler.

You lowered your eyes to the paperwork in front of you, pretending not to listen even though he sat less than a meter away.

“I’m still at the office… yeah, probably another hour.”

A pause.

Then that smile again.

Small.

Real.

“I told you not to wait up for me.”

Your grip tightened slightly around your pen.

Maekar continued talking quietly, voice lowering even more as the conversation went on. The kind of voice he had never once used with you.

And somehow, that was the cruelest part of all this.

You were the one wearing his ring.

But half the time, you felt more like a stranger in his life than anyone else in this building.

You stood abruptly, gathering the folders against your chest.

“I’m taking these to legal.”

You kept your voice steady.

Maekar was still on the phone.

“Mm. I’ll call you back.”

But before you could walk past him—

His hand wrapped around your wrist.

You froze instantly.

Not painfully tight.

Just enough to stop you.

You turned to him in disbelief.

Maekar kept the phone against his ear, pale violet eyes lifting toward yours like this was the most natural thing in the world.

“Yeah… it’s nothing.”

Your gaze dropped to his hand.

Warm.

Annoyingly warm.

“Maekar.”

You lowered your voice because he was still talking to her.

“Let go.”

He ignored you.

Instead, his thumb pressed lightly against your wrist as if telling you to wait.

You nearly laughed.

What was this supposed to be?

Did he want you to stand there while he spoke softly to another woman?

Did he want you to hear exactly how gentle he could be with someone he actually loved?

You rolled your eyes before turning away toward the rain outside.

“I’ll probably be late tonight.”

His voice stayed soft against the phone.

“Yeah… okay.”

A brief pause.

Then finally—

“I’ll call you later.”

The call ended.

Silence crashed into the room immediately afterward.

Only rain and the hum of the air conditioner remained.

But Maekar still hadn’t let go of your wrist.

You slowly looked back at him.

“How long are you planning on holding me here?”

Maekar leaned back slightly against the desk, eyes fixed on yours.

“What’s your problem?”

You let out a short laugh.

“Mine?”

“You’ve looked pissed at me all afternoon.”

“Maybe you’re imagining things.”

“You rolled your eyes at me.”

“Because you’re annoying.”

The answer slipped out before you could stop it.

And judging by the slight shift in his expression, Maekar hadn’t expected you to say it out loud either.

He kept staring at you quietly, fingers still around your wrist like he was trying to figure something out.

“You never used to talk to me like this.”

“Because I grew up.”

Your voice remained calm.

Then, slowly, you peeled his hand away from your wrist one finger at a time.

Gentle.

Polite.

Final.

You stepped back immediately afterward, putting space between the two of you again.

Maekar glanced briefly at his now-empty hand before looking back up at you.

The tension in the room felt unbearable.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll deliver these now.”

Your tone stayed perfectly professional.

Maekar stayed quiet for a second too long.

Then finally—

“I wasn’t trying to upset you.”

You studied him for a moment.

The dark circles beneath his eyes.

The wrinkled sleeves.

The exhaustion he carried around like armor.

Once upon a time, that version of him would’ve made your heart ache.

Now?

“You do it all the time, Maekar.”

And with that, you walked away without looking back.

The office door closed softly behind you.

But the heaviness in your chest stayed there long after.

—

Monday morning at Targaryen Corporation felt tense in a way everyone noticed immediately.

“Mr. Targaryen’s in a horrible mood again.”

“He sent finance back three times over formatting.”

“I heard PR got yelled at because the font size was wrong.”

You heard every whispered conversation as you walked past the cubicles carrying coffee.

But you ignored all of it.

Over the past two weeks, Maekar had become impossible to please.

He snapped during meetings.

Changed schedules last minute.

Rejected presentations over microscopic mistakes.

And somehow, the worst part wasn’t even his temper.

It was the way he kept looking at you.

Every meeting.

Every hallway.

Every room.

You’d feel it before you saw it.

That heavy stare from across the table while you worked.

And every single time you looked up—

Maekar was already watching you.

Like he wanted to say something.

But never did.

So eventually, you stopped looking back altogether.

During meetings, you no longer sat beside him.

You chose the far end of the conference table instead.

A subtle difference.

But everyone noticed.

Especially Maekar.

Because the moment you sat down, you could feel his gaze settle on you again.

Sharp.

Silent.

Uncomfortable.

“Can we begin?”

His voice finally broke the silence.

The meeting moved forward normally after that—numbers, investments, quarterly reports.

You answered questions professionally whenever needed, never once looking directly at him longer than necessary.

Then halfway through the presentation—

“y/n. Come here.”

The room went quiet immediately.

Before, you would’ve stood beside him without hesitation.

Now?

“The report you need is on page sixteen.”

You didn’t even look up.

Silence.

Then his voice again, lower this time.

“y/n.”

A warning.

You finally lifted your eyes to meet his.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Targaryen?”

Your tone was painfully polite.

Like a wall carefully built between the two of you.

Maekar stared at you for two long seconds.

Then looked back down at the documents.

“…No.”

But after that, the atmosphere inside the room never recovered.

Because even if nobody knew the full story—

Everyone could tell something between you and Maekar Targaryen was falling apart.

And somehow, he seemed to hate it more than anyone else.

never hearing the weight of my steps.

I was the steady flame in your night,

yet you mistook my light for the sun.

My laughter filled your hollow rooms,

my patience stitched your broken hours.

But you counted neither—

as though love were endless,

as though I were infinite.

Now absence teaches louder than words,

and the echo of what I gave

rings sharper than my voice ever did.

I was here—

and you forgot to see me.

I was yours—