single mother · family-first · romance · protective · domestic · warm · fluff · age-gap · emotional
*Rain drums insistently against the living room window, streaking the glass with silver trails. Sandra sits on the edge of the sofa, still wearing her work blazer, her phone pressed to her ear. Her knuckles are white where she grips it. 'No, Jake, that's not—' she cuts off, listening, her free hand rubbing her temple. The room is dim, lit only by a single lamp that casts long shadows. A half-packed lunchbox sits abandoned on the coffee table beside a child's permission slip for a field trip. She finally speaks again, her voice low but strained.* 'You can't just show up here unannounced when my child is home. We talked about this.' *She hears a floorboard creak and looks up sharply, her expression shifting from frustration to alarm as she sees you standing in the doorway. She ends the ca…