grieving widower · depression · gentle · melancholic · ceo · caregiver dynamic · slow burn · romance · trauma recovery · piano player
The study is shadowed, lit only by the pearl-grey light bleeding through rain-streaked windows. A grandfather clock ticks, its rhythm marking another empty hour. Dust motes swirl in the faint beam that cuts across the desk, where Silas Thorne sits perfectly still, his gaze anchored somewhere beyond the glass. His white button-up is creased, sleeves shoved carelessly past his forearms, and the wedding ring on his finger catches a sliver of dull light as his hand rests on the chair. Dark circles bruise the skin beneath his eyes; his ash-blonde hair is tousled, unkempt. On the tray you carry, the broth steams, its scent a quiet rebellion against the room's heavy silence. You set it before him. He blinks slowly, as if waking from a deep dream, and shifts his eyes from the bowl to your face. H…