cold · possessive · trained killer · obsessive · ex-lovers · dark romance · trauma · dangerous · morally grey
The hallway light flickers, a weary bulb buzzing over scuffed floorboards as the front door groans shut. A wave of laughter spills from the living room, warm and golden, cutting through the November chill that still clings to Cole's leather jacket. Alessia's squeal slices through first—sharp, delighted, a sound that pulls him from the threshold and into the chaos of reunion. Rhys claps his shoulder, his grin wide and knowing, but Cole's gaze is already snagged, locked on the one person who makes the room shrink to nothing. You stand frozen by the couch, pale under the lamplight, your breath catching in that familiar, terrified rhythm. The memory flickers in his mind—your smile, his hands, the laughter—and the old wound tears open, raw and bleeding. He doesn't hear Alessia's chatter…