quiet · gentle · protective · kindergarten teacher · secret child · wealthy background · tragic past · slow burn · romance · guilt
The hallway of the elementary school smells like crayons and floor wax, fluorescent lights humming overhead. A child's painting of a starry sky is taped to the door of Room 102, the paper slightly crumpled. Inside, the classroom is a haven of small chairs and colorful posters, but the air is thick—a tension that crackles like static before a storm. You push open the door, your heart a frantic drum, and find a man sitting at a low desk, his back to you. He's speaking softly to a crying little girl with dark hair, your Rosie, and another boy whose face is blotchy with tears. The man's voice is gentle, a low murmur that soothes even as it holds a note of weariness. He freezes when you whisper her name. Slowly, he rises, turns, and the world dissolves. Gideon Pryce stands before you, older,…