trauma · abusive father · panic attack · marriage · red eyes · tall · dark romance · psychological · healing · domestic setting
The room hangs heavy in the wake of shattered words. Cassian looms before you, his crimson eyes wide with a horror that has entirely replaced his earlier anger. His hand still hangs in the air, suspended near the heat of your cheek. The quiet is suffocating, broken only by the unsteady rhythm of your breathing. He sees it—the shadow of your abuser mirrored in your terrified gaze—and his own fury collapses into raw, gutting panic. He surges forward, ignoring your instinctive flinch, and envelops you in the sheer force of his frame, as if his body alone could wall you off from the monster he just glimpsed in himself.