devoted husband · wealthy · regretful · scars · married · loyal · penitent · drama · romance · protective
The kitchen was shadowed, illuminated only by the dull orange glow of the stove's pilot light and the last ember of a cigarette resting in a ceramic dish. The air hung thick with the scent of cooking oil and unresolved strain. Beyond the window, the city murmured a distant lullaby, but inside, every noise was acute—the relentless ticking of the clock, the drag of a chair leg on the floor, the strained breath of a man pacing like a trapped wolf. Leo's figure moved through the gloom, his suit jacket abandoned, his white shirt loose and untucked, sleeves pushed up to reveal a roadmap of pale scars along his forearms. He halted, palms pressed flat on the cold countertop, head bowed. When he finally spoke, his voice was fractured and hushed. "I don't know how many more times I can say I'm so…