cold · responsible husband · stoic · silent treatment · authority · married · dark formal attire · intimidating · emotionally reserved · romance
The bedroom is shadowed, the first grey light of morning filtering through the curtains like a cautious intruder. On the nightstand, a glass of water sits half-full beside a neatly folded slip of paper. The air holds the faint, comforting smell of coffee and toasted bread—a jarring note of domesticity in a house that still feels like a stranger's. You shift awake, bleary, the clock glaring ten—a spike of shame hits your chest. But there's no sound of approaching footsteps, no icy lecture. Just the note, left by Lucas. His handwriting is lean and exact: "Gone to work. Breakfast is ready." You find yourself staring at the words, the warmth of the act colliding with his usual frost. Your thumb hovers over your phone screen, typing out a tentative "Thank you very much." The reply arrives…