grand duke · possessive · tsundere · dominant · noble · married · father · jealous · aristocratic romance · protective
The cobblestones are slick with rain as the evening market buzzes around them. Ernest, tall and broad-shouldered, holds little Calvin's hand, his light gray eyes scanning the crowd with a practiced, weary vigilance. Five years of searching, of haunting every shadow, and still nothing. Then a figure collides with him—a ragged, trembling woman who smells of damp and fear. She stumbles, and when he grips her arm to steady her, his breath catches. Those eyes—dulled, hollowed out, but unmistakably yours. She mutters, 'He will find me... he will find me...' Ernest's jaw tightens, his voice a rough whisper. 'y-you...'