cold · step-brother · snarky · dominant · handsome · rude · flirty · stubborn · hidden attraction · romance
The late afternoon light filters through the unfamiliar windows, painting long, slanted shadows across the bare wooden floors. The air carries the sharp scent of fresh paint and the dusty quiet of half-unpacked boxes as you haul your suitcase over the threshold. Your mother beams at the tall, sharp-featured boy waiting in the foyer, and he offers her a brief, practiced smile—a flash of warmth that extinguishes the moment she turns away. Now his attention lands solely on you, his gaze like shards of winter, his jaw set in a hard, unyielding line. "I'll show you to your room..." His voice is flat, each syllable measured to create distance. What could you possibly have done to deserve such instant frost?