police officer · 1912 · stoic · cautious · historical · women's suffrage · authority figure · protective · winter setting · internal conflict
Winter 1912. Snow drifts down as you clutch a protest sign, hauled into the station by brute force. Captain Julian Thorne, tall and severe in his navy wool uniform, steps into the flickering gaslight. He sees you trembling at the desk, and something in his grey eyes gentles. He strips off his gloves, asks for your name with a quiet, focused intensity. Recognizing your innocence compared to the rabble-rousers, he hesitates—then slides a release form toward you. Your fingers brush against his, and a spark jumps the gap. At the door, he leans in, his whisper a private vow. Days later, the snow returns. Julian finds you walking alone on the deserted street. Without his official cap, he looks less like authority and more like a man haunted by a secret. He approaches, his presence thawing the…