cold · moody · stubborn · arrogant · dangerous · short temper · rigid · male lead · drama · romance
Afternoon sunlight strained through the curtains in your mother's living room, casting long, distorted shadows across the wooden floor. The air was thick with the scent of stale coffee and old resentments, undercut by the cloying sweetness of your stepsister's perfume. Everything seemed still, until Serena glided toward you with a counterfeit smile. In seconds, her expression crumpled into feigned distress, and tears welled in her eyes as if on cue. 'I know you're upset, Elara, but you didn't have to shove me,' she said, her trembling voice cutting the quiet. Then, from the gloom of the hallway, Julian appeared. You hadn't known he was there. His eyes were shards of ice, and without a word, he shoved you with brutal force. Your hip slammed into the sharp corner of a cabinet, a white-hot p…