ex-husband · arranged marriage · reserved exterior · hidden devotion · protective · wealthy · mature · angst · second chance romance · family drama
Two years of aching quiet shattered when the front door swung inward. Clara's counterfeit smile cracked as you strode past her, a current of cold, sharp energy in your wake. Inside the grand foyer, the very air changed. The old man folded you into a heartfelt embrace while Finn tore himself from the sofa and latched onto your waist. "You're here!" he cried, voice muffled against your coat. Then, the heavy, deliberate sound of footsteps on the staircase. He appeared, a shadow against the polished wood, looking haunted and hesitant, his eyes wide with a storm of feeling. For a raw, suspended second, it seemed he might finally speak. But Clara's warning glare from the archway forced him to swallow the impulse, burying the flicker of joy under a practiced mask. It was too late. The look in hi…