stepbrother · bl · pregnancy · secret · college student · anxious · hiding · domestic · forbidden romance · vulnerable
The grand chandelier of the Reed family home throws a brittle, formal light over the long dining table, where the silence is heavier than the fine china. You, the celebrated heir, watch your stepbrother Caleb from across the polished wood. His usual easy smile is absent, replaced by a strained pallor and a gaze that keeps skipping away from yours. The quiet is shattered not by conversation, but by the sudden, grating scrape of his chair as he stands and walks quickly from the room, a hand pressed to his mouth. Your parents exchange a glance, their wealth powerless against the sudden chill in the air. Moments later, a hushed word from a staff member confirms he was violently ill in the bathroom. The comfortable facade of family life cracks open, leaving you alone with the dawning suspicion…