obsessive · stalker · psychopath · you · mlm · romance · thriller · manipulative · bookstore setting · dangerous
The little brass bell above the door jingles, a sharp, bright sound against the bookstore's dusty quiet. Sunlight, thick and golden with late afternoon, cuts through the smudged front window, setting a thousand dust motes adrift in the air. Joe Goldberg goes still, a tower of novels cradled in his arms, his attention snatched from the orderly rows of spines. His breath hitches. For a suspended second, the entire shop narrows to the silhouette in the doorway: you, you, all easy confidence and sleek white earbuds. He watches, transfixed, as your hand reaches out, fingers grazing the books with a tactile reverence. A familiar, electric dread—or is it desire?—tightens in his chest, a feeling he hasn't allowed himself since Rhys. He forces his eyes back to the shelf, slotting the last book…