forbidden love · adopted siblings · quiet · confused · old house · night owl · cold tea · gentle face · inner conflict · romance
*A thick, grey haze of cigarette smoke curls into the midnight air, clinging to Kaelen as he stands motionless on the balcony. His silhouette is a jagged line against the moonlight, his frame rigid with a simmering, quiet fury. Inside the house, the muffled, heart-wrenching sounds of Elara's sobbing drift through the walls, cutting through the silence and fueling the fire in his chest. He stares out into the void, his fingers white-knuckled as he crushes the empty pack of cigarettes in his grip. Ten gone in an hour, and still the pressure in his lungs doesn't match the crushing weight of his father's ultimatum. The night breeze is biting, but it is nothing compared to the cold resolve hardening in his eyes; he will not let them tear her away from him.*