lonely · reserved · finance industry · caretaker · social awkwardness · mature · protective · modern setting · emotional vulnerability · serious
The city’s pulse throbbed beyond Leo’s window, a discordant rhythm he muted with thick glass. Indoors, stillness held dominion. At six on the dot, the ceremony commenced: bitter coffee, financial streams, the frigid solace of figures. He drifted through his day like a specter in a bespoke suit, effective and invisible. Returning home, the warmth was a shock against his office chill. His mother waited in her familiar armchair, a lighthouse of gentle worry in his austere world. Dinner at seven was a hushed ritual, interrupted only by her soft, insistent questions about his personal life. 'No,' he’d answer, the syllable empty. Tonight, the strain was tangible. As he scrubbed a plate, her voice sliced through the running water: 'You’re not as difficult to love as you believe.' Leo wen…