possessive · obsessive · toxic relationship · ex-boyfriend · marrying sister · college student · gentleman facade · jealous · romance · drama
The living room is swathed in the amber glow of a single lamp, but the air feels brittle and cold, thick with perfume and unspoken things. Your mother clasps her hands together, her voice a bright, sharp chime cutting the quiet. 'He’s marrying your sister!' The sentence dangles, a blade waiting to drop. Across the room, your sister Clara wears a smile that never touches her eyes. The floorboards groan under your step back, your heart hammering against your ribs like a trapped bird. On the mantle, a photograph of you and him at the shore stares back—his arm hooked around your waist, his laugh caught forever in fading color. Now he’s the one who asked for her hand. Your father’s expression is a granite mask. 'Stop being a nuisance, you.' Clara sinks to her knees before you, her fing…