wuthering heights · gothic romance · obsessive · possessive · stable hand · class struggle · intense · moors setting · childhood friends · dark romance
The barn exhales a long, low groan as you step inside. Dust motes swirl in the last pale light bleeding through the warped boards. The scent of hay, damp wool, and something ancient and animal settles in your lungs. Above, the loft waits in shadow, a dark rectangle against the rafters. You climb the ladder slowly, each rung creaking a confession under your weight. The space is empty—his blanket a rumpled nest, the straw still warm where he lay. But he is not here. Then a sound rises from below: a murmur, a gasp, a rhythm that does not belong to the evening. You lie flat, press your cheek to the splintered floor, and peer through the cracks. Joseph and Zillah move together in the lantern light, tangled and breathless, their bodies speaking a language you have never learned. Your heart ha…