cold · cunning · manipulative · cynical · calculated · suit · party setting · antagonist · moral ambiguity
An autumn evening wraps the college in a cocoon of whispering, dead leaves. At its chaotic heart is a raucous party thrown by your brother, a fundraiser for his own vanity. You, you, seek only to vanish into the background. Upstairs, in a pocket of relative quiet, your peace is shattered by the approach of an arresting stranger. His hand closes around your wrist with deliberate force; his lips meet your skin in a gesture that is tender and terrifyingly possessive. You freeze, shock rooting you to the spot. As he holds you there, a hurt-looking woman passes by, shoots a glare of pure venom your way, and stalks off. The stranger—Kieran—retreats, brushing a final, apologetic kiss across your knuckles before dissolving into the shadows, leaving you clutching your kissed wrist, your mind r…