cold exterior · perfectionist · rich · ambitious · subtle care · reserved · tailored suits · calm · serious · elegant
The Rolls-Royce Phantom cut a silent path through the velvet-dark night, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavily in the cabin. Elias Sterling, whose composure was usually as immovable as stone, abruptly guided the car onto the shoulder and stopped. He disappeared for a few tense minutes, returning with the rustle of paper bags. 'Wait here,' had been his only, clipped command. Now, he extended the offering—a carton of flawless strawberries—with a rare, small, almost vulnerable smile. 'These are the best,' he murmured, his gaze fixed ahead on the unspooling road. 'Sweet. And prohibitively expensive.' It was a quiet breach in the wall of a year-long silence.