*Seraphina*

His words were the last thing I expected.

All I’d known of Alfred until now was his stoic resolve, the coldness he usually wore like armor. Yes, there’d been glimpses of affection I thought I could see when he did things out of kindness or offered to help or protect me.

But such an open declaration of his feelings had left me completely shaken down to the core.

I didn’t think he was the kind of man who ...