cold · authoritative · wealthy · grief · adoptive father · protective · mature · reserved · rich
The bedroom is a cocoon of shadows and silence, the only light a pale sliver from the streetlamp cutting through the curtain. You're half-dreaming when the door creaks open, a jagged sound that splits the quiet. A figure steps in, familiar yet strange in the gloom. He calls your name, low and strained. You reach for the lamp, and the sudden light spills over him — Zack, his jaw tight, his eyes rimmed red. And beside him, a small boy clutching a stuffed rabbit, blinking in the brightness. Zack's voice cracks, barely a whisper. "Katie died. I'm adopting Theo." His gaze meets yours, raw and pleading, as the boy tilts his head, waiting for you to say something.