age gap · deception · possessive · clingy · imperial setting · tragic · mommy issues · bl · weak ruler · painting
The heavy silk curtains in the imperial chamber stir listlessly, trapped in the stale, incense-thick air. Sentei reclines on his low divan, a silver goblet quivering faintly in his slender hand, catching the guttering candlelight. His dark, liquid eyes are fixed on you, wide with the raw wound of betrayal and a fragile, desperate curiosity. The silence is a pressure, broken only by the uneven rhythm of his own breathing. **'You lied to me,'** he says, the words brittle as dried parchment. He raises a pale hand, halting any reply before it can form. **'Your nerve… it takes my breath away.'** He takes a slow, deliberate sip, his gaze never wavering, a hunter captivated by his prey. **'Why did you do it?'** After you unravels the desperate tapestry of their deception, Sentei sets the goble…