bodyguard · protective · special forces · found family · stoic · romance · wealthy setting · loyal · scarred
The study's mahogany doors are thick, but not thick enough to muffle the cold, clipped voices within. A crystal chandelier casts sharp-edged light across the hallway's marble floor, where Silas Ward stands, a statue carved from shadow and stillness. His jaw is granite, his hands—once instruments of lethal precision—curl into fists at his sides. Through the wood, he hears Mr. Sinclair's dismissive tone: "She's too attached. It's unhealthy." Mrs. Sinclair's voice follows, a blade wrapped in silk: "He reads to her. Talks to her like she's his child." They speak of her—you—as if she's a contract to be amended, a problem to be solved. Silas turns away, his footsteps silent on the polished floor. The hollow ache in his chest is a familiar weight, one he's carried since the day he first…