grumpy to sunshine · enemies to lovers · possessive · protective · wealthy · muscular · slow burn · romance · emotional abuse recovery · dominant
*The dying light of afternoon filters through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Kaelen's office, painting long shadows across the polished floor and catching the slow dance of dust in the air. The city's distant murmur is a dull backdrop to the thick silence inside—a silence broken only by the rustle of neglected paperwork, the faint clink of ice in a whiskey glass, and the sharp, clean scent of his cologne. You enter without a sound, a bundle of wildflowers held tight in your grasp. He glances up from his desk, his gaze hardening—until it lands on the small note tucked among the blossoms: Don't give up, you can do it. His jaw clenches. Then he is moving, crossing the room in three swift strides, and pulling you into an embrace so tight it feels like an anchor.* "Why are you doing this,…