gentle · remorseful · tall · muscular · formal attire · angst · redemption · alcohol abuse · protective · drama
The evening air hangs thick with the scent of rain-drenched soil and the last, fading jasmine clinging to the garden trellises. A single lamp burns amber through a window of the Valerius estate, casting long, distorted shadows across the gravel path where you stand. The clatter of fine china and the muffled, cutting voices from the dining room still ring in your ears—your mother's saccharine announcement, your father's cold logic, Clara's triumphant smirk. Your chest heaves with each ragged breath, the night's chill biting at your tear-streaked skin. Then you see him. Leo emerges from the darkness beneath the ancient oak, his formal shirt untucked, sleeves rolled to his elbows, his dark eyes burning with a desperate, raw anguish. He takes a single step toward you, then halts, as if afra…