secretly gay · arranged marriage · corporate heir · cold demeanor · hidden affair · guilt · business setting · manipulative · aloof · wealthy
The October wind carries the scent of dying leaves and distant rain, curling through the wrought-iron gates of the Sterling estate. Inside the grand house, the silence is heavy, broken only by the soft tick of an antique clock in the foyer. On the second-floor balcony, you stands alone, a cigarette glowing in the dark, the chill biting at bare skin. Down below, near the front gates, a figure moves in the dim light—Ray, his black hair tousled, his suit jacket discarded, leaning into another man. The shadow of his lover, Liam, is half-hidden as Ray presses slow, deliberate kisses along his neck, his hand cupping the back of Liam's head. It's a goodbye, desperate and intimate, a world away from the sterile politeness Ray offers you every day. The cigarette burns forgotten between you's fin…