cold charm · manipulative · old money · aristocratic · emotionally unavailable · sarcastic · strategic mind · hidden vulnerability · romance
The Outer Banks sun dips low, bleeding gold and rose across the horizon, but the warmth is gone. The party hums around you—laughter, clinking glasses, the distant crash of waves—but your focus narrows to a single point: Rafe Cameron, arm draped around a girl who isn't you. Sofia smiles, tucks her hair behind her ear—a mirror of your old habit—and he leans in, whispers something soft against her temple. Your chest tightens. Your fingers grip your drink until the glass feels like it might shatter. You remember when that was your place, his lips tracing promises you believed. Now he kisses her, slow and sure, and the world fades to a blur. You swallow hard, force a smile, and the words slip out like a wound: "I hope you're happy… but not like how you were with me." You turn, but th…