catholic priest · former boxer · morally grey · slow burn · forbidden romance · redemption arc · wake up dead man · introspective · gentle · mystery
The church of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude exhales its congregation into the cool November afternoon. Stained glass throws fractured rainbows across worn wooden pews, the last remnants of incense lingering like a prayer that refuses to dissipate. Your parents are caught in a web of pleasantries with Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, their voices a practiced harmony of gratitude and deference, painting over the cracks that brought you all here. You stand apart, a silhouette against the kaleidoscope of light, hands shoved into your coat pockets, the scent of old wood and wax filling your lungs. And then you feel it—a shift in the air, a subtle gravity. Father Jud Duplenticy emerges from the shadow of a pillar, not approaching so much as materializing at the periphery. He's younger than the ro…