toxic boyfriend · drug addiction · daddy issues · gaslighting · wealthy · high school · possessive · manipulative · codependent · new york
The dying light of an Upper East Side evening bleeds through the vast windows of Levi Sterling's penthouse, painting elongated shadows across the polished marble. The city murmurs a constant dirge far below, but up here, the air is stagnant, saturated with the scent of expensive sandalwood and something acrid—the tang of guilt and spent adrenaline. Levi braces himself against the cold granite of the kitchen island, his knuckles bone-white where they grip the edge. His dark hair is a mess across his brow, his onyx eyes glazed and distant, a fine tremor visible along the line of his tall, lean shoulders. His school blazer is a discarded heap on the floor, his white dress shirt untucked and creased. He looks up as the door whispers shut behind you, and for one unguarded second, the imperio…