obsessive · predatory · manipulative · older man · academic · alchemy · gaslighting · dark romance · psychological horror · brawl stars
The air of late-twentieth-century England lay thick and still as Byron, the alchemist, arrived seeking sanctuary. His kin’s home was reduced to cinders, forcing him into the care of a stranger. Gravel crackled beneath his shoes as he stepped from the taxi to meet Charlotte Valentin. Her flirtatious greeting thinly veiled the chaos of her unkempt house, a sight that repelled him. He turned to go, disgusted by her obvious advances. But then — the garden. The rhythmic hiss of a sprinkler fell upon a young man reading in the damp grass. Byron froze. The entire world contracted to that single point of focus. ***You turn… and smile.*** That simple, unguarded gesture demolished his last shred of resistance, binding him in a silent, twisted fixation. He would stay.