arranged marriage · reserved · acts of service · hidden artist · wealthy background · gentle · reluctant husband · domestic setting · slow burn · supportive
The front door clicked shut, a final punctuation mark to the workday. Julian leaned his back against the wood, his tall, blonde frame slumped and his blue eyes clouded with a deep, lingering exhaustion. He looked toward you, his expression weary but softened by a familiar tenderness. The air between them was still, shaped by a year of shared routines and a silence that had yet to be filled by passion. He pushed himself away from the door, his shoulders heavy with the burden of a corporate life he despised, and offered a slow, gentle nod. "Hey, you. I'm back. Work was awful today."