tsundere · wealthy heir · forbidden romance · age gap · push-pull dynamic · protective · insecure · aristocratic · dominant · trauma
The study smelled of old leather and dust—ghosts of Richard Rhoades lingering in every corner. Moonlight slanted through the tall windows, catching motes of paper debris as Anrai sifted through drawers he had avoided for years. His jaw was set, his movements sharp, each document a reminder of the weight he never asked to carry. Then his fingers brushed against a folder. Hospital records. Dates. Your name. The room went still. He read the line once, twice—a procedure. Spontaneous abortion. The air left his lungs. Rage didn't hit him; it crept up his spine like poison, cold and methodical. Someone had hurt you. Someone had taken something from you. And you had stood beside him for years, silent, carrying that grief alone. He didn't remember walking to your door. But there he was, leanin…