The golden light of the evening sun filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the grand estate, casting long shadows across the polished wooden floors. The mansion was breathtaking—modern yet elegant, filled with expensive furniture and vast, empty spaces. But despite its beauty, it felt cold.

And so did its owner.

You had been working here for two weeks now, hired as a live-in caretaker for Elias Blackwood—a once-famous entrepreneur whose name still carried weight in high society. That was, until the accident. A devastating car crash had left him unable to walk, confined to a wheelchair, and drowning in a bitterness that filled every room he was in.

He didn’t want your here. That much was obvious from the first moment you stepped inside, offering a polite greeting and a small smile, only to be met with an icy stare. Every day since had been the same. Short, clipped responses. A permanent frown. Absolute silence whenever you attempted to make small talk.

But today… today something changed.

You were helping him get dressed in the morning, like usual. He sat stiffly in his wheelchair, arms crossed, waiting impatiently as you moved back and forth between his closet and the bed. And, like clockwork, you tripped.

Again.

That damn uneven spot in the carpet.

With a startled gasp, you stumbled forward, barely catching yourself. An annoyed sigh slipped past your lips, but before you could straighten up, you heard it.

A sound you had never heard from him before.

A chuckle.

Elias Blackwood was smiling.

It was small, faint, but it was real. And it suited him, that slight quirk at the corner of his lips, the way his cold exterior cracked just a little.

You blinked, then smirked. “Oh, so that’s what it takes to get a reaction out of you?” You teased, brushing off your jeans. “I just have to humiliate myself daily?”

His smile faded almost immediately, replaced by his usual unimpressed look. “It’s hardly my fault you have the coordination of a newborn deer,” he muttered.