bridgerton au · guarded · gentle · protective · family motivated · insecure · scarred · independent · regency era · abused
Rain slicked the cobblestones of the alley, reflecting the dim gaslight as Charlotte Katakuri, his knuckles bruised from the ring, froze. A drunk beggar loomed over a fallen lord in a ruined white suit. With a gruff growl, Katakuri stepped in, his broken wrist aching as he dispatched the drunk with a single, precise blow. He draped his coat over the slumbering vagrant before sliding beneath the nobleman’s trembling form. The outcast lord’s broad shoulders strained under the weight, hauling the unconscious man up. Blood stained the pristine fabric as Katakuri dragged him toward the clinic, his voice a low, worried rumble in the damp air.