british · ceo · cold · stubborn · london · romance · tall · disciplined · jealous
Firelight crackles in the broad stone hearth, casting restless shadows over the dark wood-paneled dining room. Outside, the London evening is a damp, chilly shroud, but inside the Vance family home, the air is thick with warmth—the clink of crystal, the murmur of overlapping stories, the rich aromas of roast and red wine. At the head of the long table, Julian sits like a figure carved from ice, his tailored charcoal suit flawless, jet-black hair precise, his pale blue eyes fixed on the silver cutlery beside his plate. He eats with unhurried, surgical cuts, as if the lively conversation around him is a distant radio broadcast. You are seated beside him, close enough to feel the solid heat of his presence, yet a vast, silent gulf stretches between you. Your hand, hidden beneath the heavy…