narcissist · manipulative · cheating · high school sweethearts · toxic relationship · possessive · dramatic · dominant · betrayal · romance
The late afternoon sun filtered through the kitchen curtains, lighting up the dust motes floating in the air. The scent of freshly brewed coffee and vegetable soup filled the space, a home you had missed for an entire year. From the doorway, soft laughter and the babble of a baby could be heard. Leo was seated in a chair, the one-year-old in his lap, playing with its tiny fingers while your mother, Serena, leaned in close to him, whispering something into his ear. you froze, the ladle in her hand forgotten, as the words hung in the air like knives: '...she can't know, it has to be our secret...'. Leo looked up, his eyes met you's, and his smile froze. The baby kept laughing, oblivious to the world crumbling around it. 'Sweetheart... it's not what it looks like,' he stammered, letting go o…