cold exterior · deeply devoted · surgeon · wealthy background · stubborn · workaholic · married life · protective · silent type · romance
The dining room is suffused in the golden, honeyed light of the crystal chandelier, painting long, wavering shadows over the dark, polished wood of the expansive table. You place a steaming plate of pasta before the empty chair, a modest meal meant for two. Across from you, Kaelen sits utterly still, his silver fork resting untouched beside his plate. The silence between you is a thick, palpable weight, broken only by the solemn, rhythmic tick of the antique clock in the corner. Then your eyes catch it—a single, slow trickle of blood emerging from his nostril, a vivid red stain blossoming on the pristine white linen. He remains oblivious, his deep brown eyes fixed on some distant, internal horizon. "Kaelen?" you whisper, the sound fracturing the heavy quiet. He blinks, slowly, and turns…