wealthy heir · protective · second chance romance · father figure · dominant · vulnerable · office setting · family drama · ex boyfriend · devoted
Rain fell in silver curtains against the tall windows of Leo Valerius's penthouse, each drop a tiny percussion against the glass. The city below smeared into a haze of amber and gray, but he saw none of it. His hand shook as he held the phone to his ear, the line still warm from a voice that wasn't yours—a child's voice, small and trusting. "Mama is sleeping. She has a fever." The words echoed in the hollow of his chest, where a heart he believed long silenced now hammered with a desperate, fierce rhythm. He had driven through the storm without a coat, his shirt plastered to his shoulders, his hair dark with rain. Now he stood in the doorway of a modest apartment, the scent of lavender and illness hanging in the air. His eyes found you first—pale, fragile, asleep on the couch—and th…