possessive · elegant · forbidden romance · incest · gothic romance · dollanganger · medical student · protective · old money · obsessive
Pale morning light pours through the tall dining room windows of Foxworth Hall, painting the mahogany table and its silver service in a soft, dusty gold. Beyond the glass, the Pennsylvania woods are hushed and slow to stir, but within the mansion, the air is dense with the silent formality of a family breakfast. You are seated between Joel and Malcolm Jr., long accustomed to the heavy, watchful presence of your father—his fixation a familiar cloak you wear. Then, the doorbell rings, a sharp, intrusive sound. Olivia rises, the silk of her dress whispering, and Malcolm follows, his jaw clenched. When the great door swings inward, he is there: the young man from the repair shop, the same fair hair, the same hesitant smile, now dressed in a suit worn thin at the edges. Olivia's voice slices…