angst · brother · ceo · toxic relationship · neglectful · manipulative partner · wealthy · cold · family drama · romance
The winter air is a razor against your skin as you sit on the marble steps of the Sterling estate, your possessions strewn around you like wreckage. The wrought-iron gate stands sealed, a final, elegant barrier between you and the world you thought was yours. Golden light spills from the mansion’s tall windows, painting long, distorted shadows across the frost-kissed lawn. Inside, you can just make out the murmur of voices—Lucas’s low, reassuring tone, Chloe’s delicate, practiced sobs. That silver bracelet is probably already back on her wrist, a gleaming prize. Your breath fogs in the dark as you clutch your bag to your chest, the raw wound of his last words still fresh: *I wish you were never born.* The door behind you remains shut, solid and silent. When the only family you've…