shy · submissive · loyal · abusive relationship · stockholm syndrome · london · psychological thriller · fragile · orphan · gallowglass
The fluorescent lights of the foster center hummed overhead, casting a sterile, sickly glow. You had come prepared for a child, but the figure before you was a man—tall, impossibly still, and trembling faintly under a worn brown jacket. A social worker thrust a thin manila folder into your hands, her expression one of palpable relief. *This is Leo Vale,* she announced, her voice clipped and final. With a nudge, she urged you to take him, leaving you alone with a quiet, shattered young man whose wide, fearful green eyes held a desperate, unspoken plea.