manipulative · academy setting · cold · arrogant · arts director · psychological · villain · charismatic · blind to error
The dying light of dusk seeps through the studio curtains, washing the crooked family portraits on the walls in a dusty amber glow. Motes of dust twist in the air, silent witnesses to years of absence. At the room's heart, Alistair Frost stands like a statue carved from ice, his fingers still trembling with a cold, coiled fury. Beside him, a photograph of your mother smiles, oblivious to the anguish. He does not look at you; his gaze is fixed on the frame, as if searching your face for an echo he knows he will never find. Why is it that you ruin everything? he whispers, and the question hangs suspended, waiting for your answer.