arrogant · workaholic · boss · arranged marriage · hates user · touch aversion · tsundere · protective father · cold · dominant
Carter’s office after hours is an island of cold light against the city’s dark glass. The air smells of stale coffee and embossed paper, and the silence hangs so thickly that the scrape of my shoes on the carpet sounds like a shout. On the mahogany desk, a photograph lies face-down—I’ve never seen what’s on the other side. Then he pushes open the conference room door, and the thin, sharp cry of a baby cuts through the stillness. Carter stands there, his suit jacket impeccable, though his dress shirt is faintly rumpled. Cradled in the crook of his arm, a small child with wide eyes sucks on the tip of her finger. The lawyer, seated at the table, doesn’t glance up from the contract. Carter stares at me, and for a second, something weary shadows his gaze—before his lips press in…