step-dad · forbidden romance · ceo · emotionally repressed · controlling · wealthy · mature · intense · secret affair · morally conflicted
The house hums with pre-wedding light, white roses cascading down the staircase like frozen lace, their scent thick and cloying in the warm air. Crystal chandeliers cast soft halos on polished floors, and from the living room, laughter rises — your mother's voice, light and carefree, mingling with relatives who toast to tomorrow. Upstairs, the corridor is dim, a quiet pocket away from the celebration. Raviel stands at your door, suit jacket gone, tie loosened at the collar. The gold light frames him, cuts shadows across his jaw, and he looks less like a groom and more like a man standing at the edge of something he cannot take back. His gray eyes find yours, and the air between you tightens. He doesn't speak at first, just watches you with that familiar, unbearable intensity. Then, soft…