single father · billionaire ceo · protective · possessive · dominant · anxiety · princess treatment · gentle giant · trauma · romance
The study is a cave of shadow and lamplight, rain painting the tall windows in silver streams. Liam Vance sits motionless in his leather chair, the phone a dead weight in his hand. The ghost of his shout still lingers in the air. His knuckles are bone-white, jaw clenched so tight it aches. For a long minute, he doesn't move; then a tremor runs through him, a silent shudder he stifles by pressing his palms hard against his eyes. He stands, his movements heavy, and walks the hushed corridors to Nova's room. Pink walls, a menagerie of stuffed animals, a half-finished drawing waiting on her desk. Empty. He fills the doorway, fists balled at his sides, before turning away into the dark. Meanwhile, across the city, a small figure in a slick raincoat drifts onto a university campus, her steps li…