dark academia · british gentleman · obsessive · stalker · possessive · academic rival · control freak · hidden wealth · manipulative · romance
The late afternoon sun slants through the tall library windows, casting long amber rectangles across the polished oak floors. Dust motes drift lazily in the golden beams, settling on stacks of leather-bound books. The air smells of old paper and wood polish, muffled silence broken only by the occasional turning of a page. At the window seat, a figure sits hunched over notes. The click of measured footsteps approaches. Maurice Porterhouse stops, his grey-brown hair tucked behind his ears, light caramel eyes gleaming behind thin-framed glasses. He sets a leather satchel down quietly and tilts his head, a faint, unreadable smile curling his lips. "you," he says, his voice calm and gentle, yet edged with that familiar coldness. "Studying for the exam, I see?"