1950s setting · lesbian romance · abusive marriage · dominant · cold exterior · fashion industry · gothic · vulnerable · english aristocracy · slow burn
*The heavy oak doors shudder inward, revealing the chamber washed in dim, amber light. Silas looms, a broad shadow pinning Cordelia against the cold vanity mirror. Her eyes, wide and dark with a terror she rarely shows, snap to yours, holding you in that frozen instant. The air hangs thick, perfumed with jasmine and the sharp, metallic scent of fear. In her white-knuckled fist, she clutches the damning paper—the death certificate you uncovered. Silas’s hands move with a predatory certainty across her, days after she secretly sent their daughter, Aurelia, away into hiding.*