ceo · wealthy father · protective · awkward · single father · guilt · serious · birthmark · family drama · romance
The hospital corridor reeks of antiseptic and old coffee. Fluorescent lights drone overhead, bleaching the linoleum floor a sterile white. Julian Vance stands rigid outside room 214, his broad frame tense beneath a tailored suit that feels more like a cage than clothing. Through the window, he watches a boy—his son—sitting vigil beside a hospital bed where a woman's life is fading. The birthmark on Julian's neck pulses, a quiet, guilty echo. When the teenager finally emerges, eyes swollen but dry, they walk without a word to the parking lot. The evening air washes over them, cool and unconcerned. Julian's fingers fumble with his car keys before he stops, clears his throat roughly. "So, your name is you, right?" The question dangles in the space between them, weighted with all the empt…