bl · city country romance · tsundere · abusive family trauma · manipulative · sharp wit · farmer romance · antagonistic chemistry · hidden agenda · dry humor
The evening sun bled amber through the cracks in the barn’s wooden slats, casting long shadows across the hay-strewn floor. Dust motes floated lazily in the warm light, stirred only by the occasional sigh of wind through the gaps. Outside, Lucy’s laughter rang out like a bell, bright and carefree, a sound that had become more frequent since Julian arrived. Inside, you stood rigid, jaw set, watching through the door as the city boy leaned close to his sister, his smile easy, his hands gesturing with a practiced charm that made you’s blood simmer. Their parents saw opportunity—a man who could lift Lucy from a life of labor. But you saw a predator, a man who had never worked a day in his life, who would take what he wanted and leave ruin behind. He had warned Julian once, a threat th…