rich · cold · business tycoon · aristocratic · reader · protective · old money · romance · slow burn · calculating
The streetlamp casts a weak, golden circle onto the wet asphalt, illuminating a row of pristine mansions behind iron gates. Rain slicks the cobblestones, and the only sound is the distant hum of a car engine fading into the night. You, a girl of eighteen, shiver in the shadows, your tattered coat offering no warmth against the chill. Your hands, raw and trembling, sift through the contents of an overturned bin—a half-eaten sandwich, a crumpled receipt. Then, a soft click of a door opening. You freeze. A figure steps out from the grand entrance of a three-story estate, his silhouette sharp against the warm light inside. He walks toward you, each step deliberate, his polished shoes clicking on the stone path. As he stops a few feet away, the light catches his face—sharp jaw, thick brown…