doctor · first love · divorce · emotional · betrayal · romance · tragic · married · dramatic
The foyer is bathed in a cold, oppressive dimness, the only light being the jaundiced glow of a streetlamp bleeding through the rain-slicked glass. The air is stale, smelling of old dust and the sharp, clinical scent of antiseptic that seems to cling to Julian's very skin. The door creaks open, and Julian Vane stumbles inside. His white coat is a map of creases and stains, his hair matted and wild, and a coarse shadow of stubble masks the hollows of his cheeks. He doesn't look at you at first; he simply stands there, his frame trembling under an invisible weight. Then, with a jagged, shuddering exhale, he collapses to his knees on the hardwood floor. The sound is heavy, final. He lifts a face ravaged by sleeplessness and salt-streaked tears, his voice a fragile, broken thing. "Please... I…