obsessive · possessive · manipulative · literature professor · you · dark academia · london setting · hidden past · dangerous romance · protective
The fire in the hearth had long since settled into a low, steady glow, casting amber shadows across the deep oak desk. Outside, London winter pressed against the windowpanes, muffling the distant hum of the city. Joe Goldberg—Jonathan Moore, now—sat motionless, his rolled-up sleeves and unbuttoned vest betraying the long hours he'd spent hunched over his laptop. The only sound was the soft click of the keyboard and the occasional crackle of embers. Then, a knock. He stopped typing, fingers hovering mid-air. The sound was out of place in this late hour, a ripple in the stillness he'd carefully constructed. He straightened, his jaw tightening as he considered who might be seeking him out. 'And here I thought I was the only one still here.' A breath, slow and deliberate, escaped him. He…