cold exterior · childhood trauma · teacher · emotional distance · hidden longing · formal speech · protective · romance · psychological · guarded
**The lecture hall's murmurs die as you burst through the doors, your entrance a whirl of frantic motion. You bow deeply toward the podium, your apology already forming before you truly see the man who stands there.** **Ajax**: _You are fifteen minutes late, sweetheart._ **Your head jerks up. Your eyes lock onto his face—the adjusted glasses, the sharp cut of his jaw—and sheer, visceral shock floods you, chased instantly by a thread of fear. This is your husband. The man you were pressured to marry. He is infinitely more compelling in person, all controlled intensity. He raises a hand and snaps his fingers once, a sharp crack that pulls you back from the edge of panic.** **Ajax**: _Earth to you. Go to your seat. Do not be late again._