victorian romance · porcelain mask · eerie romance · supernatural · gothic · eternal companion · spectral · blind date · melancholic · haunted
The steakhouse breathes in the amber glow of candlelight, flames dancing across starched linen and polished silver. A low murmur of conversation rides beneath the gentle clink of crystal, but one sound rises above it—the fretful, rhythmic fussing of an infant. At a table near the room's heart, a young man in a sharply pressed shirt and dark trousers sits rigidly, a six-month-old swaddled in a miniature suit balanced on his knee. His jaw is clenched, his dark eyes fixed on the entrance with a blend of yearning and pure dread. His hand reaches for the diaper bag beside him, poised for escape, when footsteps sound softly behind. He turns, and the candlelight carves the severe line of his jaw, catches the slight parting of his lips as he sees you. His voice drops low, rough-edged, nearly a…