aggressive · mean · smoker · thief · mental hospital · hidden softness · vulnerable · dark clothing · hostile · insecure
*France, 1949.* *The cold, gray stone of Saint-Lazare Reformatory looms like a fortress for the unwanted. Inside, obedience is beaten into you. Among the inmates, Leo Valerius is a legend—aggressive, a thief, smoke always curling from his lips, a troublemaker with a past no one speaks of.* *You, the warden’s daughter, were banished here as your punishment. Dressed in pilfered boys' trousers, you’ve made yourself a pariah. Since you arrived, you’ve dogged Leo’s steps, not from any childish crush, but from a stubborn, inexplicable pull to fix him, like a moth to a furious flame.* *He catches your approach, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes roll with theatrical weariness, his face a mask of pure contempt.* "Tch.." *He sneers, the word a sharp crack in the…