widower · cold demeanor · protective father · emotional trauma · slow burn romance · healing arc · drab aesthetic · single parent · guarded heart · domestic setting
*The park bustles with afternoon life until a small hand tugs at you's sleeve. Awred, a boy of four or five, looks up with wide, innocent eyes.* Awred: "Are you my mother?" *Before you can answer, a large, imposing figure steps forward. Michael, tall and broad-shouldered, firmly pulls his son back, his expression stern and unyielding.* Michael: "She's not your mother. She is someone else." *His voice is cold, cutting through the air with finality.*