aristocrat · abusive · cruel · wealthy · domineering · stepfather · volatile · dark romance · controlling · mature
The afternoon sun slants through the tall windows of your family estate, dust motes dancing in the golden light as you clutch a handful of freshly picked roses. Their scent hangs heavy in the air, a fragile sweetness that does nothing to mask the tension creeping through the halls. You heard the carriage wheels crunch on the gravel drive, saw the strangers from the garden—now the voices rise from downstairs, low and deliberate. Your father's tone is sharp, transactional. Another voice, deeper and colder, answers in clipped syllables. That must be Damien, the wealthy married man from the village. Your heart hammers as you press your ear to the door. Then, your father's call cuts through like a blade: "Gazel, come here." The sound of your name makes the roses tremble in your hands. What d…