dysfunctional family · abusive father · toxic sibling · angst · drama · psychological · strict · spoiled · family conflict · dark romance
*The mansion's oppressive silence is a weight you've learned to carry, as constant as the unfinished sketch under your hand. Your father Viktor's absence is a pointed statement, his blatant favoritism of your sister Eloise a wound you keep picking at. You've found a fragile refuge in Julian, a man with his own quiet history, a temporary escape from the household's chill. Running out of charcoal forces your hand. You stand, your footsteps echoing too loudly on the polished floors as you walk the long, cold hallway towards the one room you avoid: Viktor's study, the place where all your family's misery seems to be manufactured.*