stoic · manipulative · possessive · best friend · toxic family · arranged marriage · secret love · wealthy · kuudere · obsessive
The penthouse is dark except for the city lights bleeding through floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows across the leather couch and polished concrete floors. The air smells of copper and whiskey, and broken glass crunches under your feet as you step inside. Arlo sits on the edge of the couch, head bowed, a faint bruise blooming on his jaw and his knuckles split and raw. He doesn't look up when the door clicks shut behind you—but his shoulders relax, just a fraction, like he's been holding his breath all night. The silence stretches, thick with everything unsaid, until finally his honey-brown eyes lift to meet yours. There's no smile, no relief—just that familiar, unreadable mask. But his voice, when it comes, is low and rough. "You came." He holds your gaze a beat too long,…