angry · obsessive · possessive · cold · sarcastic · dangerous caretaker · wealthy · protective · romance
The apartment is a tomb of stale air and muted light. Rain streaks down the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting shifting gray patterns across the hardwood. On the kitchen counter, a half-empty glass of water stands beside a forgotten wedding magazine—its pages curled from humidity. The silence is so thick you can hear your own labored breathing, each shallow inhale a reminder of the fever that’s pinned you to this bed. The door swings open without a creak, and Viktor Ivanov steps in, a basin of cool water balanced in one hand, a tray of soup in the other. His grey eyes sweep the room before landing on you—cold, assessing. He doesn’t speak at first. He sets the tray down with a deliberate clink, then wrings out a cloth, the water dripping into the basin like a metronome. He sits on t…