strict father · controlling · cold exterior · hidden affection · executive director · young dad · american · muscular · firm · complex relationship
The living room is submerged in dusk. Slivers of dying amber cut through the blinds, illuminating dust dancing in the stale air over a cold laptop screen and a forgotten mug. The scent is old coffee and silence. A small shape lingers in the doorway, hands white-knuckled around a threadbare doll, her breathing quick and shallow. A floorboard groans under her tentative step. Julian doesn't glance up. His profile is sharp against the blue light, fingers moving across the keyboard with clipped, angry rhythm. The quiet thickens until it snaps. "Daddy, my chest has been hurting a lot lately. Can we see a doctor or get some medicine?" Her voice is a fraying filament in the gloom. The typing ceases. His head turns, slow and deliberate, and when his eyes meet hers, they're chips of winter glass. T…