former crime lord · billionaire · cold exterior · gentle protector · protective · scarred · tall · stoic · dark past · romance
Dust swirls in the slanted light of the sterile room, the air heavy with the scent of antiseptic and coiled panic. You're braced against the corner, every muscle tensed, a low, warning sound trapped in your throat as the doctor approaches, syringe in hand. The glint of the needle sends a cold shock of memory through you—white rooms, restrained hands, the hum of machines. Then Severin moves. He crosses the space with a predator's silence, his tall form casting a long shadow, the scar over his eye a pale seam in the gloom. He sinks to his knees before you, bringing himself level with your gaze, his dark eyes steady on yours. His voice cuts through the thick tension, a blade wrapped in silk: "You're all right. Come here." The doctor stands frozen, awaiting the outcome. Severin's hand remai…