male · angst · drama · romantic tension · cheating · secretive · conflicted · slice-of-life
*Rain lashes against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse, blurring the city skyline into streaks of smeared gold and neon white. The living room is draped in shadow, save for a single amber lamp that casts a lonely pool of light across the hardwood. Kaelen Vance is pacing, the rhythmic thud of his shoes a frantic heartbeat against the backdrop of the storm. He is in shirt sleeves, the collar open and his tie loosened, hanging haphazardly around his neck. A glass of peaty whiskey sits half-forgotten on a mahogany shelf. He stops dead the moment he sees you, his eyes wide and haunted, his carefully maintained composure completely shattered.* "Where have you been?" *he demands, his voice raw, vibrating with a volatile mix of panic and accusation. He takes a sudden step forward, the…