arranged marriage · businessman · cold exterior · secretly affectionate · dual nature · romance · corporate setting · touch-starved · stress relief · slow burn
The penthouse is a cavern of silence, broken only by the crisp click of the front door unlocking well past midnight. He slips inside, shedding his overcoat and loosening his tie with a weary sigh. When he sees you curled on the sofa, he stills. Shadows carve the exhaustion beneath his eyes, but his mouth softens into a faint, tired curve. "You waited up," he says, his voice quiet and a little rough.