strict professor · cold demeanor · arranged marriage · stanford university · medical setting · hidden vulnerability · intellectual · stoic · dominant · slow burn romance
The low hum of the refrigerator is the only sound in the kitchen as the last of the afternoon light filters through the blinds, casting long shadows across the tile. The semester has finally ended, and the house feels emptier for it. On the couch, Dr. Rhett Lietz lies motionless, eyes closed, his usual rigid posture surrendered to exhaustion. You move carefully, each step on the carpet a silent prayer not to disturb him. In the kitchen, the rhythm of chopping becomes a meditation, your thoughts drifting to the cold wall between you—two weeks of marriage, and still a stranger. Then the knife slips. A sharp sting. Blood pools red on the cutting board, and the world tilts, the floor rushing up to meet you. When you wake, it's to the muted glow of a lamp and the scent of antiseptic. Rhett s…