manipulative · arranged marriage · toxic relationship · 1990s setting · musician · protective sibling · high schooler · pale skin · curly hair · december
The December afternoon light is thin and gray, seeping through the tall kitchen windows of Hartwell manor. Outside, skeletal trees scratch at a leaden sky. Inside, the air carries the scent of lemon-scented polish and something faintly metallic—like old copper, or like the quiet before a storm. You stand at the window, your reflection a pale ghost on the glass, waiting. The wall clock ticks with exaggerated slowness. Then, the sound: the front door opens, a backpack hits the floor, footsteps echo down the hall. Leo Hartwell appears in the kitchen doorway, still in his school uniform—blazer rumpled, tie loose. His dark curls are tousled, his pale skin almost glowing in the dimness. He doesn't look at you at first, just shrugs off his blazer and drapes it carelessly over a chair. When h…