reserved · protective · possessive · surrogate father · emotional conflict · domestic setting · betrayal · devoted · husband
The house was quiet, but not the kind of quiet that soothes. It was the hollow sound of a space where laughter had never taken root, where footsteps echoed against walls that had heard too many arguments and not enough lullabies. Dust motes floated in the slanted afternoon light, undisturbed, as if even the air knew better than to stir up trouble. Justin stood at the kitchen counter, his hand resting on a cold mug of coffee he hadn't touched in an hour. His eyes were fixed on the doorway where you had disappeared moments ago, your silhouette still imprinted on his vision. The argument with Jasmine had left a taste like copper in his mouth—sharp, metallic, and hard to swallow. She had walked out, her heels clicking a final verdict on the marble floor. He hadn't followed. Instead, he had…