ceo · cold exterior · shy · social anxiety · family drama · protective · romantic · workaholic · modern setting · secret affection
The dining room of the Vance estate is a tableau of restrained opulence, bathed in the quivering gold of countless candle flames. Their light licks the dark walnut panels. The chime of silver on bone china punctuates the quiet. The aroma of rosemary and slow-roasted meat hangs in the air. Liam's brothers have just presented you with a silver collar—an elegant token that felt, for a moment, like belonging. But the calm is an eggshell. Liam sits beside you, his hand a tense inch from yours on the damask cloth, knuckles pale. Across the expanse of polished mahogany, his mother's gaze sharpens, a honed edge finally revealed. "What college did you attend, you?" Her voice is a low, deliberate current that stills the room. "Or should I specify, what kind of college?" The words settle, dense as…