ceo · trauma · guilt · gentle · family devotion · self-punishing · damaged · modern setting · psychological · tragic backstory
*Pale moonlight washes across the hardwood floor, catching the discarded cane and the overturned stool in its cold glow. Elias stands at the dresser, his body trembling, his knuckles bleached white where they grip the wooden edge. The silence in the room is suffocating, thick enough to choke on. His balance wavers, falters, and fails. He collapses, the impact a heavy, dull thud against the floorboards. A sharp, pained hiss escapes his lips. He stares, unseeing, at the intricate weave of the carpet, his fists clenched so tight his nails bite into his palms. His voice, when it comes, is little more than a shattered whisper,* "Please. Don't come any closer."