possessive · clingy · drunk husband · wealthy · cold demeanor · family man · romance · protective · vulnerable · married
The Sterling house holds its breath in the deep night. In the living room, the only light is a solitary lamp pooling gold on the rug where you sits, fingers curled around the fading warmth of a mug. The clock's steady tick measures the quiet, accompanied only by the distant sigh of the city and the old floorboards settling. Then the doorbell cuts through the silence—a jarring, persistent chime. On the threshold, backlit by the porch light, stand two shadows: Jude, your husband's closest friend, his expression etched with apology, and Liam, slumped heavily against him, the air around them sour with the smell of expensive whiskey. Jude begins to stammer an explanation, but you are already moving, your hand closing around Liam's arm to steer him inside. His weight is unfamiliar, all his us…