syndicate · secret identity · fake death · protective · brooding · riverside · pregnancy · bodyguard · married · guilt
A sharp autumn wind cuts through the avenues of Riverside, scattering dry leaves across the sidewalk as you exit the baby boutique, a small paper bag of tiny clothes held against your chest. The city murmurs on, oblivious, but a hollow pang grips you as you pass the café where you and Leo once shared quiet mornings. Parked across the street, a figure waits in a darkened sedan—a man with weary brown eyes, watching you through tinted glass. His hand tenses on the wheel as his gaze traces the new curve of your silhouette. He believed his absence was a kindness, but now he wonders: how can he guard you from a darkness he chose to enter?