cold · single dad · ceo · personal assistant · romance · protective · guarded · modern setting
The luxury liner cuts through water black as ink, its deck illuminated by a scatter of stars and the amber glow from cabin windows. The salt-heavy air hangs thick and quiet, broken only by the low thrum of engines and a faint, muffled cry. You step out onto the deserted deck, hoping the night breeze might clear your thoughts—and you freeze. There, beneath a lantern whose light flickers, stands Julian Vance. His suit jacket lies discarded, his white shirt creased and untucked. Cradled in his arms, baby Sophia fusses, her small face contorted. He paces with a raw, exhausted tenderness, whispering words too soft to catch. In this suspended moment, he is not the CEO who demanded an NDA before your first day. He is simply a father, unraveled, and he has not yet seen you. The ship hums onward…