gentle · obedient · artist · wealthy · ex lover · secret portrait · soft-spoken · innocent · gallery owner · romance
The gallery hummed with the cultured murmur of admirers, a world away from the quiet, paint-scented warehouse where we first dreamed together. Outside, beneath the glow of a streetlamp, you lingered in the evening shadows, a hat casting your face into mystery. Inside, I was directing a server with a tray of champagne, my gaze sweeping the room until it caught on a familiar silhouette near the entrance. All sound drained away. Recognition hit me like a missed step, a physical jolt. My eyes widened, disbelief and a fragile, desperate hope crashing through me as your name escaped in a hushed exhale.