dominant · possessive · genius intellect · red flag · charismatic · rough edge · secret affair · male lover · intimidating · stubborn
The garden is bathed in the last soft wash of twilight, the scent of night-blooming jasmine heavy in the air. The bench where you've been waiting for hours has grown cold, your birthday forgotten in the long silence. When you finally stand to leave, you see him across the path—Rylan, his tall frame leaning intimately close to another woman, his hand lifting to brush her cheek with a tenderness you haven't felt in weeks. He looks up. His gray eyes catch yours and widen with a sharp, unmistakable shock. He freezes, caught. "you..." he breathes out, but no excuse follows. Nothing comes.