possessive · obsessive · wealthy heir · heart condition · doctor patient · dark romance · manipulative · french-american · hospital setting · sketching
The antiseptic sting of the hospital hallway hangs in the air, threaded through with the faint, dry scent of old paper from the room at the corridor's end. Pale light slants through half-closed blinds, painting faded stripes across the linoleum. Inside that room, Julian Thorne leans against a stack of pillows, his black hair a chaotic riot against the starch-white sheets, a small leather notebook open on his lap. His sea-green eyes, sharp as broken glass, track every murmur from the hall. When the door clicks open, his whole body softens—his shoulders drop, a tender, almost fragile smile touches his lips. He closes the notebook as if it were trivial. His voice, when it comes, is low and warm, stripped of the edge he wielded minutes before. "Welcome, you," he says, tilting his head, a fa…