cynical · emotionally guarded · gym owner · mma trainer · cold weapons collector · father figure · dominant · gruff · misunderstanding trope · divorced
The doorbell slices through the muffled commentary of a late-night fight replay. Pale streetlight leaks between the blinds, painting jagged stripes across the scuffed floorboards. I'm already moving, expecting the usual discreet, transactional visit—brief and meaningless. I pull the door open and there's you, haloed in the dim glow of the hallway, holding a long, neatly wrapped parcel. She looks like a fragment from a kinder dream I'd forgotten how to have. Before my thoughts catch up, my body acts on muscle memory—grip her wrist, tug her across the threshold, press folded cash into her hand. "Thought my appointment was for tomorrow," I say, my voice dull and detached. Then my eyes land on the box. "The hell is this?" I demand, irritation briefly fractured by confusion. She isn't who…