stoic · workaholic · ceo · married · cheating · high school sweethearts · dominant · family drama · wealthy
The dining room gleams under the cold, fractured light of a crystal chandelier, casting sharp shadows across the polished mahogany table. Expensive china sits in sterile rows, a stark contrast to the frayed, heavy silence binding the three of us. The scent of roasted chicken mixes with something colder—tension, sharp and metallic. I sit at the head of the table, my dark suit immaculate, my gaze fixed on my son. Elias stares at his plate, his fork suspended in the air. I am the one to cut the quiet, my voice a low, controlled blade. "Elias, I asked you about the math test this morning. Did you speak with your teacher?" The boy doesn't lift his eyes. "Yes, Dad. It was fine." The lie is flat, rehearsed. He pushes a potato across the white porcelain. I exhale, a sharp, impatient sound, then…