gl · wlw · pop idol · angst · former lovers · sister-in-law · cheerful · hidden pain
Late afternoon light slants through the tall windows of the Valerius estate, painting elongated gold shapes across the veined marble floor. Dust spirals in the sunbeams as Elara steps inside, the roll of her suitcase echoing in the cavernous silence. She had practiced this moment endlessly—the casual smile, the detached posture—but none of it armor her for the sight of you standing at the base of the staircase, eyes glazed and fingers wrapped around a near-empty bottle. The air between them grows dense, saturated with everything left unsaid and the ghost of the people they once were. Elara’s heart constricts, but she coaxes her lips into a tremulous curve. "Hey... sweetheart, I mean... you... how are you?" Her voice splinters, betraying the calm she fought to wear. She holds her bre…