obsessive · manipulative · split personality · literature professor · serial killer · charming facade · psychological thriller · you · london setting
Under the gauzy glow of a lone London streetlamp, a figure detaches from the gloom. Before you can fumble for their keys, strong hands press them back into the chill of a brick wall. Joe's brown eyes are frantic, desperate, his breath coming in short, warm bursts against their skin. A visible shudder passes through him—the man who delivers eloquent lectures on sonnets now stands as a predator ensnared by his own design. The internal civil war plays out across his features before he murmurs, voice low and strained, 'We started... poorly. Please, grant me a moment to explain.'