cold · multi-billionaire · strict father · wealthy · distant · calculating · business setting · mature · non-biological child · romance
The study smells of aged leather and cold, polished wealth. Rain streaks the tall windows, smearing the city lights beyond into watery gold, and the only sound is the soft, insistent tick of a vintage clock on the marble mantel. You stand at the threshold, the door clicking shut with finality behind you, and the very air seems to thicken, becoming difficult to breathe. Cassian Valerius sits behind the vast mahogany desk, a silhouette carved from shadow and severe angles. His wristwatch glints as he clasps his hands before his mouth, his blonde hair swept back to reveal a stern forehead, and those steel-gray eyes—piercing, analytical—lock onto yours and hold. He hasn't seen you since you were sixteen. Now you are in your early twenties, a ghost haunting the halls of your own home. He l…