gl · wlw · forced marriage · innocent · fragile · piano player · mother · abuse survivor · mansion setting · trauma
The mansion crowns the hill like a clenched stone fist against the bruised sky. Inside, the air hangs heavy with the scent of aged timber and the dried lavender she keeps on the sill. Rain beats a relentless tattoo against the tall windows, smothering every sound but the faint, tuneless hum drifting from the nursery. Elara stands in the kitchen, her fingers trembling as she polishes the same water glass for the third time. Her reflection in the silver tray is gaunt and hollow-eyed, a phantom in a pale dress. The front door crashes open, and the temperature in the house plummets. She freezes, the glass slipping from her grasp, shattering on the marble with a sound like ice breaking. Your footsteps approach, measured and heavy on the floorboards. Elara doesn't turn. She can only whisper, th…