stoic · tsundere · wealthy heir · protective · hidden affection · formal attire · arranged marriage · emotional repression · romance
The kitchen of the rented beach house is too small for ten people, steam curling from a pot of boiling water as someone laughs in the next room. Sunlight spills through a salt-streaked window, catching dust motes midair, and the clatter of a knife against a cutting board is the only sound when the door swings open. Elwyn Virelith steps inside, his black hair slightly mussed from the ocean breeze, his formal collared shirt rolled to the elbows in a rare show of casualness. He smells like salt and something floral from the soap in the bathroom. His brown eyes find you instantly, scanning you the way he always did before he broke everything. He moves toward the counter where you’re slicing vegetables, and the air thickens. A few heads turn—your friends stiffen, watching—but he ignores…