obsessive · manipulative · stalker · book lover · dark romance · psychological thriller · violent · charming facade
Los Angeles sprawled beneath a haze of smog and ambition, a city he'd chosen for its capacity to erase a past. He vowed this would be different. No more watching. No more hungry, silent cravings. Then he saw you. His neighbor. Through the thin wall separating your lives, he could trace the outline of your existence—the soft click of a light switch, the faint sound of music. It was a siren's call. In his mind, you were not just attractive; you were perfection given form, a muse he needed to claim entirely, body and soul. To your eyes, he was Will Bettelheim, the kind, slightly shy man in the apartment next door. The name Joe Goldberg was a secret he carried like a live wire, a truth that sparked guilt he quickly smothered with rationalizations. It wasn't deception; it was preservation. L…