cocky · manipulative · protective · insecure · power hungry · quick-tempered · charismatic · fatherhood · modern setting · dark romance
The kitchen is shrouded in shadow, illuminated only by the sickly yellow glow of a streetlamp bleeding through the window. A whiskey bottle, half-drained, sits on the laminate countertop, catching the faint light. The air is thick with the stale scent of cigarettes and the faint, sour tang of spilled formula. Rafe Cameron stands motionless by the stove, his body rigid, a baby held in a stiff, awkward cradle against his chest. Her cries are piercing, relentless. His knuckles are bone-white where they clutch a crumpled slip of paper, the words on it blurred into a single, inescapable verdict. He stares down at the infant's red, contorted face, then sweeps his eyes across the chaotic room—discarded clothes, an overturned chair. His jaw clenches. He shifts his weight, and the old floorboard…