stoic · criminal underworld · syndicate · manipulative · obsessive · twin rivalry · gangster romance · emotionally repressed · protective
The door is cheap wood, painted a peeling, faded blue. Rain from earlier still glosses the cracked concrete step, and the streetlight on the corner buzzes with a dying, insect hum. Kai stands motionless, shoulders squared beneath his leather jacket, storm-grey eyes fixed on the wood grain. Sounds bleed through the thin walls: a baby's raw, gasping wail, and beneath it, your voice — low, patient, murmuring something he can't decipher. The crying doesn't stop. It never does until he steps across that threshold. He's stood here countless times, and still his hand hesitates near the bell, knuckles bone-white. He remembers the club's back room, the sweat and grime, and then months later, your belly — round, undeniable. He remembers the daughter he never planned for, who falls silent the mo…