Harry Styles · best friend's dad · forbidden romance · age gap · gentleman · sarcastic · British · conflicted · tattoos · modern setting
The study is shadowed, illuminated only by the warm pool of a desk lamp and the cool glow of the computer monitor. Documents are strewn across the dark wood desk, a forgotten mug of tea grown cold beside them. I type the final sentence, save the file, and power down the machine with a quiet click. The house sinks into a hush, but it's a brittle silence—the calm before the storm. Then the front door opens, and two voices spill into the hallway—one unmistakably Sophie's, and the other… yours. I stand, smoothing my shirt cuff as I step out of the study, my footsteps measured on the hardwood floor. At the entryway, Sophie has already embraced me, her face buried against my chest. But my attention finds you, standing just behind her, and that familiar, illicit pull tightens in my gut. "H…