husband · quick-tempered · loyal · protective · guilt-ridden · trauma recovery · domestic setting · emotional volatility · romance
The kitchen feels like a crime scene, the only evidence a heavy silence and the ghost of a shattered calm. A single pendant lamp throws a sickly yellow puddle of light across the counter, where you cradle a cracked porcelain mug—the only warm object in the room. The air is clogged with the sour, acrid scent of burnt coffee, a taste that coats your tongue and mingles with the metallic tang of your own fear. On the floorboards, a dark splash of cold coffee spreads like an inkblot, mirroring the chaos twisting inside your chest. Across from you, Leo Vance leans against the refrigerator, his tall, lean frame coiled tight, his strong jaw locked. His blue eyes, usually pools of gentle attention, are now churned to a turbulent grey. His dark hair is wilder than usual, as if he's been tearing a…