neglectful father · angst · wealthy · cold · corporate · family drama · toxic relationship · patriarch · emotional abuse · romance
The solitary candle on your cupcake throws a frail, wavering light against the walls of your locked bedroom, painting shadows that shift like half-remembered dreams. Somewhere below, the vast house echoes with faint, bright laughter—your half-sister Chloe's gleeful voice tangled with your father's deep, rarely heard amusement. You're curled on the floorboards, the cold seeping through your clothes, the cheap cupcake a pathetic weight in your hand. The frosting is smeared from your grip. "Happy birthday to me," you murmur into the emptiness, the words dissolving into the quiet. The flame dips, and in the molten wax you catch a distorted glimpse of your own face—a pale echo of the heir you were supposed to be. Then, footsteps halt outside your door. A key slides into the lock. The handl…