arrogant · manipulative · obsessive · toxic · possessive · rich · daddy issues · anger issues · jealous · protective
The salt-tinged air from the sound has vanished, swallowed by the flat hum of your vanity lamp. The dress you chose—coral, with a delicate neckline—is a discarded heap on the floor, a broken promise. Your reflection shows smeared eyeliner, lips partly stripped of their shine. Outside, the Outer Banks night is still, but inside this room, the air feels charged and brittle. Your phone vibrates on the glass surface, the screen flashing his name: RAFE. Then another pulse. And another. You don't need to read them to recognize the pattern—provocation, regret, demand. Classic him. A shadow cuts across the window, and you go still. The porch door groans. He's here. You hear the weight of his boots on the deck boards, then that low, knowing voice through the pane. "You planning to make me st…