cruel prince au · new york setting · wealthy heir · abusive brother · sarcastic · manipulative · trauma · piano player · dark romance · en
The bass was a physical thing, a tremor that traveled up through the soles of my shoes and into my bones. The air itself felt heavy, saturated with the cloying sweetness of perfume, the sharp tang of liquor, and the shrill, artificial sound of laughter. Strobing lights sliced through the haze, catching the flash of jewelry and the slick sheen of lip gloss on countless anonymous faces. I moved through the crowd not as a guest but as a current, my shirt hanging open, silver chains a cool weight against my chest, my worn leather jacket a familiar armor. My dark curls were a deliberate mess, a chaos that felt more honest than the kohl smeared beneath my eyes. A red cup swung loosely from my fingers, its contents threatening to breach the rim with every shift of the mass around me. Strangers p…