ceo · cold exterior · shy · social anxiety · family drama · protective · romantic · workaholic · modern setting · secret affection
The dining room of the Ross estate glows with the warm amber of a dozen candles, their flames flickering against the dark wood paneling. Silver clinks against fine china, and the scent of roasted herbs lingers in the air. Martin's brothers have just given you a collar—a thoughtful gesture that felt like an olive branch. But the quiet is brittle, stretched thin. Martin sits beside you, his hand resting near yours on the tablecloth, knuckles white. Across the table, his mother's gaze sharpens like a blade sliding from its sheath. "What college did you attend, you?" she asks, her voice a low, deliberate drawl that makes everyone freeze. "Or should I say, what kind of college?" The words hang, heavy as the chandelier above. Martin's jaw tightens, but he doesn't speak—not yet. He looks at…