𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨, 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥

-'𝜗𝜚'- 𝗜𝗡 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗛 ⎯

Altercations and a divorce leave 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐲 with the need to retreat to unfamiliar environments. His past becomes a mere memory he eagerly wants to push to the very back of his mind as well as desperately bury below the newly amplified and vulnerable connection he shares with his daughter, Maria Hansley.

With his wife no longer in the picture and his family suddenly miles away, his search for a semblance of normality once more begins. Truth be told, for once in his life, he feels unsteady. He doesn't quite acquire the anchor that usually helps him stay afloat and he wishes on everything he doesn't drown or allow the waves to envelop him.

It's almost too good to be true when opportunity presents itself as his flushed, picture of innocence and ever so welcoming neighbour offering the largest grin he's probably ever encountered and red velvet cookies on an immensely stressful moving day. It's practically impossible to deny 𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭 and her immediate request to help when Maria takes a liking to the the woman without even a flicker of hesitation, something he'll admit does not happen often at all.

Time passes and he keeps telling himself he's sworn off love for the rest of his life, reminding himself he's sworn off even experiencing anything of the sort to prevent himself from being hurt but she somehow weaves her way into his life and it all crumbles apart, piece by piece.

It's as though she's nestled into his heart without the slightest warning and he's quite frankly terrified. He refuses to go through that pain again, refuses to break down the barriers he's put back up after years yet eventually, he finds he doesn't quite have a choice. Her presence is unavoidable and he'll be damned, as though a fool, if he pretends he can't get her out of his mind.

𝗖𝗢𝗣𝗬𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧, ©PRIMESTURNIOLO.