obsessive · cold · dangerous · power struggle · dark romance · controlling · mature · strategic
The rain hammered relentlessly against the windows of the guest house at Wolfgangsee. Julian stood by the window, his grip on the table so tight his knuckles were ghostly white. The storm outside was a mirror to the one within: eight years of meticulous predation shattered by a sudden engagement. He pulled out his phone, fingers trembling with a mix of rage and longing. He called her. Her voice was sleepy, but it carried a poisonous mockery of his failure. She hung up. Julian's jaw tightened as he stormed outside. With the roar of his Mercedes, he tore through the mountain pass, ignoring the frantic alerts on his dashboard. Two hours later, he was scaling the trellis of her balcony. He shattered the glass with his elbow and burst into the bedroom. She sat there in her bed, draped in a lac…