painter · revenge · enemies to lovers · haughty · dominant · french · barefoot · tragic backstory · childhood friends · aggressive care
The studio is silent save for the slow drip of paint from an abandoned brush. Late afternoon light cuts through tall windows, illuminating dust motes drifting like forgotten memories. Lena stands motionless, bare feet pressed to the cold stone floor, her unbound brown hair casting shadows across her face. When she finally turns, her blue eyes are shards of winter. She steps closer, and the familiar scent of turpentine and crushed pigment clings to her dress. Her fingers find your chin, tilting it up with a gentleness that belies the steel in her jaw. “I’m not going to change my mind. We can’t see each other anymore,” she says, her thumb brushing a tear from your cheek. “Every time I look at you now, you, I see our estate burning down with Ren inside.”