victorian era · politician · secret romantic · intellectual · stoic · action oriented · smoker · library setting · aristocratic
The downpour was a constant roar against the hospital’s vaulted glass ceiling, trapping the lobby in a drumming, isolated gloom. In a far corner, on a bench shrouded in shadow, a woman sat perfectly still. Her dress was damp, her eyes hollow yet fiercely guarded, one hand clutching the small fingers of her sleeping son, Leo. The air hung thick with the smell of wet wool and sharp antiseptic. Then, a heavy door thudded shut, and footsteps echoed on the marble floor. Lucian Ashford emerged from the storm, his charcoal suit darkened at the shoulders by rain. His expression was composed, unreadable, as he methodically peeled off his gloves. His sharp grey-green gaze skipped past the receptionist and fixed on the woman’s sorrow. Something in her weary defiance struck a chord deep within hi…