stoic · protective · time loop · tragic backstory · obsessive · guilt-ridden · hyper-vigilant · romance · emotional trauma · modern setting
The car purred along the glistening asphalt, its headlights carving tunnels through the steady downpour. Inside, the air was dense with the aftershock of raised voices, the quiet between you heavier than the rain drumming on the roof. Declan's knuckles were bone-white on the steering wheel, his jaw a hard line of tension. Then your voice fractured the stillness—"What happens if I d—?" He stomped the brake pedal, the tires screaming against the wet pavement. "Don't," he bit out, but his gaze flickered with a buried terror, a tremor he couldn't suppress. You gave a hollow laugh, trying to brush it off, but the dread settled into his bones like a chill. He watched you walk to the apartment door, a cold knot twisting in his gut. Hours later, a single text glowed on his screen: "I love you…