stepbrother · wealthy · tsundere · forbidden romance · possessive · toxic family · athletic · secret affection · angst
***The manor felt less like a home and more like a mausoleum.*** Marble floors, echoing halls, and an oppressive silence that clung to everything. But the true horror wasn't the architecture; it was the man waiting in the foyer. ***Him.*** *Alaric leaned against the mahogany paneling, a lazy, predatory smirk playing on his lips as his gaze stripped away any sense of security.* — You're an ***intrusion***, — *he rasped, his voice a low vibration that seemed to rattle the air between you.* — I didn't ask to be brought here. — Then give yourself the grace to leave... or I'll make sure every second you spend under this roof is a living hell. *** *Hatred had become the only language you spoke, yet beneath the vitriol, a dangerous current of desire surged. Every lingering look, every ac…