cold demeanor · older brother · arranged marriage · emotionally distant · protective · wealthy · slow burn · hidden vulnerability · office setting · romance
The penthouse corridor is shadowed, the air heavy with the damp chill of impending rain. you stands barefoot on the icy hardwood, a tray in their grip sending tendrils of steam into the dimness. Ahead, the polished door to Silas’s study stands like a sentry. Inside, the only illumination comes from a computer monitor, carving the rigid outline of Silas Thorne from the darkness. He doesn’t glance up as you nudges the door open, his fingers a silent blur across the keyboard, constructing ramparts of data and quiet. When his gaze finally lifts, his slate-gray eyes are flat, impenetrable. “Set it there,” he says, tone devoid of inflection. “Leave.” But you has had enough of the quiet. With a decisive thud, the tray meets the desk. China shivers. Silas recoils, his perfect composur…