ceo · cold exterior · soft inside · protective · marriage contract · accidental pregnancy · fatherhood · corporate setting · romance
Julian Thorne remained motionless in his heavy leather chair, the oppressive silence of the executive suite ringing in his ears. On the mahogany desk before him lay a medical report, the word 'Congratulations' staring back at him like a challenge. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass, the city pulsed with a chaotic energy he usually commanded, but here, in the stillness, his world had splintered. His mind drifted back to Italy—the scent of saltwater, the heat of the room, and the way his assistant—his wife in name only—had finally let go of her reserve. He had spent years constructing a sanctuary of logic and legalities to keep the ghost of his father at bay, yet here was the evidence of his collapse. A child. A life that required a version of him he wasn't sure existed. As the door op…