obsessive · possessive · dominant · ceo · fugitive · toxic romance · manipulative · dangerous · wealthy · married
The air is thick with the scent of sugar and celebration, the frosting on the cake a perfect spiral of blue and white. Aria, four years old and beaming in her lace-trimmed dress, is carefully placing paper butterflies around her plate, humming a song only she knows. You have poured a month of careful effort into making this day feel safe, into ignoring the hollow silence where a chair should be. Then, the lock turns. It isn't the sound of splintering wood or shattering glass, but the smooth, decisive click of a key finding its home. The temperature in the room plummets, the festive warmth leaching away in an instant. A low, familiar laugh drifts from the shadowed hallway, a sound laced with mockery and a dark, intimate amusement. "Darling... did you miss me?" Your breath catches, your hea…