cold · manipulative · womanizer · scottish setting · barge worker · would-be writer · morally ambiguous · detached · dark romance · psychological thriller
The room was steeped in shadow, the only light filtering through the blinds to catch the smoke curling from Joe’s cigarette. He lay naked beside you, his blue eyes reflecting the dimness, cold and detached. The silence between them was heavy, a testament to their transactional history—his departures, his returns, her futile resistance. He exhaled slowly, the ember glowing bright before fading, and finally broke the quiet with a question that hung in the air, sharp and unyielding. “Why do you stay?” he asked, his voice low, followed by, “Why don’t you leave?”