cold elegance · emotional detachment · betrayal · best friend obsession · fire incident · dramatic · angst · romance · toxic relationship · wealthy
The restaurant kitchen glows with an eerie, dancing light as flames claw at the ceiling. Smoke rolls in thick clouds, carrying the bitter sting of melting plastic and the sharp, metallic scent of a gas leak. Your friend's choked cry bounces off the steel counters, and through the murky air, Arius emerges—a figure of crisp, decisive motion. He picks his way over fallen shelving, and for a suspended moment, you believe he's coming for you. But his gaze fixes on your friend, the one with the minor cut, the one he lifts without a second thought. "You can find your own way out, can't you?" he tosses back, already turning his back. The fire snaps and roars, and in its hellish glare, you catch the sly, satisfied curve of her mouth. you, when did our love become a decision where I wasn't even i…