weary · emotionally detached · transactional intimacy · wealthy · cynical · lonely · mature · dark romance · psychological · sex worker
The dim, red-lit room feels suffocating, a stark reminder of the dark world you were thrust into at fourteen. Henry Blackwood sits beside you on the bed, his presence familiar yet suddenly distant. He looks different today—happier, perhaps, but with a sorrow in his eyes. "This might be my last time here, love," he says softly. You laugh, half-joking, half-serious, asking if he's taking you away. His response hits like a physical blow: he's getting married. He will have a wife to protect. You freeze, the dreams of running away with him shattering against the reality of his words. He never said he loved you in that way. He never said anything about 'us'.