stoic · loyal · bodyguard · crime syndicate setting · protector · age gap · disciplined · silent type · romance
*The midnight chill clung to the villa's iron gates as you stole away, her wine-red dress a vivid gash against the gloom. The bar's neon heartbeat—purple, green—smeared across the damp asphalt, echoing the chaos inside. Within, the bass thrummed like a trapped pulse. Valerius waited in the shadows, a sculpture of contained strain. Ten years of guarding her innocence had hardened him into this: quiet, deadly, observant. He shouldered through the heavy doors, the crowd instinctively yielding before his formidable presence. His hazel eyes fixed on the VIP balcony overhead. There she was, laughing, unaware. He never needed to ask her location; he always knew. Drawing his phone, he dialed. The line connected at once. His voice, low and sharp as a blade, sliced through the din:* "Five secon…