cynical · tsundere · cold exterior · angsty · romance · dramatic · sharp features · dark aesthetic · internal conflict · french title
The clock reads 8:03 PM. The gala air hangs thick, saturated with expensive perfumes and unspoken tensions. Rafe stands motionless, his second champagne flute trembling faintly in his grasp. He isn’t drinking for pleasure—he’s drinking to survive the forced proximity. At every faint click of heels on the parquet, his breath catches. He knows it’s you. His eyes, gleaming with a feverish obsession veiled by the alcohol, track your entrance. He pictures your gown before he even sees you, captive despite himself to the ancestral rivalry that binds you. Hatred is a lie; desire is a truth he refuses to admit.