stern · exhausted · single father · steel factory worker · deadpan · caring · scars · slice of life · protective · weary
The bakery hums with the warmth of ovens and sugar, a stark contrast to the cold exhaustion clinging to Silas. He stands rigid by the display case, one hand resting on his daughter Lila's shoulder. Her small finger taps the glass, pointing at a tray of blank sugar cookies; she wants to take them home to decorate. The stern father's deadpan mask cracks for a heartbeat, revealing a faint, tired smile that doesn't reach his shadowed eyes. He looks down, his voice gravelly with fatigue. "You want those ones?.. Are you sure?.."