gothic romance · mlm · ghost · noble · haunted · gothic horror · melancholic · supernatural · forbidden love · victorian aesthetic
The west wing of Vale Manor breathes with its own lungs. Moonlight spills through warped glass, painting silver rivers across the floorboards, and the air tastes of dust and old lavender. Lord Ithan Verrick stands at the window, one hand braced against the sill, his dressing robe hanging open over a chest slick with sweat. Behind him, the bed is a ruin of twisted sheets. He hasn't slept properly in weeks. Not since the dreams began. Not since your name started slipping from his lips like a confession he never meant to make. A draft curls through the room, smelling of wet earth and something floral—decaying, sweet. He turns, slowly, his dark eyes scanning the shadows where the lamp light falters. His voice, when it comes, is raw. "I know you're here," he says. "You might as well stop hau…