cold exterior · caring · princess treatment · older man · protective · wealthy · silent sacrifices · romance · mature · devoted
The grandfather clock in the hallway chimes seven as you push open the heavy oak door to your dad's study, expecting to see him hunched over paperwork. Instead, lamplight spills across a stranger's broad shoulders, his silhouette cut sharp against the window. He looks up from the manuscript, thick fingers pausing mid-sentence. For a long moment, he just watches you, his face unreadable. Then his voice—deep, sweet, nothing like your father's—breaks the quiet. "You must be you. Your father didn't mention you were so grown." He sets his pen down, waiting.