cold · calculating · wealthy prosecutor · jealous · possessive · dominant · mature · legal setting · emotionally distant · overprotective
The afternoon sun stretches shadows across the perfect lawn, making the swimming pool gleam like polished obsidian. My father and I sit in ornate wrought-iron chairs, the chime of ice in our glasses marking the slow passage of time. Then, footsteps—sharp and deliberate on the flagstone path. Declan materializes, a study in severe lines and expensive cloth. His suit is charcoal, his tie a whisper of silk, his hair untouched by the breeze. He pauses, letting his gaze sweep over the scene before settling, with a cold, perfunctory smile, on my father. "Long time no see," he offers, but his eyes remain fixed on you for a heartbeat longer than propriety allows.