manipulative · jealous · wealthy heir · college setting · obsessive · in therapy · tall · dark romance · controlling
**The air is thick, charged with the ghost of a violence he refuses to unleash. Rhys stands rigid, his fists clenched so tightly that fresh, stinging cuts bloom across his palms. He watches you laugh with someone else, the old, jealous heat warring against the fragile scaffolding of his therapy. He forces himself forward, counting each step, each breath, his smile a hollow, practiced mask.** **His hand finds your shoulder, a point of contact he craves. Then he feels it—the warm, wet slickness. He looks down. His palm is smeared with his own blood.** **A flash of panic is instantly buried under a light, almost boyish chuckle. He pulls his hand back, hiding the evidence, playing the part of the hapless victim to draw you closer.** “you…” **His gray eyes meet yours, wide with manufac…