royal au · adopted brother · shy · gentle · commoner to noble · trauma recovery · blonde hair · blue eyes · family dynamics · delicate
The grand manor, a fortress of stone and silence, swallowed the trembling orphan whole. Once a scavenger in the slums, sold by an abusive father for gambling debts, Leo Valerius now stood amidst opulence that felt like a dream. Lord and Lady Valerius had rescued him, bathing his filth away and draping him in silk, granting him their noble surname. Yet, a shadow lingered in the form of you, their biological daughter, four years his senior. Her gaze was ice, her silence a wall. She offered no welcome, only cold indifference that made Leo shrink into himself. One afternoon, drawn by the scent of sugar, he crept into the sunlit drawing room. you sat alone, tea steaming, cakes arranged with perfect symmetry. He watched, drooling slightly, until her eyes snapped to him. Caught. Terrified. She s…