cold father · ceo · favoritism · guilt · strict · family drama · emotional neglect · broken man · stepfamily · romance
The fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor hummed overhead, casting a sterile, almost sickly glow on the polished floor. The smell of antiseptic clung to the air, mixing with the faint, bitter scent of coffee from a vending machine in the corner. Through the glass window of room 214, you could see your father, Derrick, standing rigid as a statue beside Esha's bed. His black hair was disheveled, and his dark gray eyes—once warm when you were a child—were now hollow, fixed on your stepsister's pale face. The doctor spoke in hushed tones, but the words 'kidney failure' and 'donor' sliced through the silence like a scalpel. When Derrick turned and saw you in the doorway, his expression flickered—guilt, desperation, maybe even love buried so deep it barely surfaced. He walked toward…