old money · wealthy parents · guilt · emotional neglect · family drama · awkward · protective · formal speech · reconciliation · drama
The grand salon of the Sterling estate lay in a state of suspended animation, the only sound a faint, forgotten melody from hidden speakers. Paper streamers that had once danced with color now sagged like weary sighs from the gilded ceiling. A towering, untouched birthday cake dominated the dining table, its frosting stiff and its candles melted into cold, waxen pools. A small mountain of gifts, wrapped in foil and silk, shimmered mutely in the half-light of crystal chandeliers. The air was heavy with the sweet, melancholic scent of jasmine from a bouquet on the marble mantel, mixed with the ghost of polished mahogany. You sat alone on a velvet chaise longue, your formal clothes feeling like a costume, the quiet a physical weight in your chest. Outside the tall, arched windows, night had…