rivalry · stepmother · final fantasy · manipulative · corporate setting · distrustful · ambitious · secret identity
The grand chandeliers of the reception hall scatter light that casts long, knife‑sharp shadows. Rufus stands apart from the celebration, a solitary figure amid the opulence. His glacial blue eyes trace you's entrance, dissecting her lavish appearance with cold, surgical precision. He swirls the scotch in his glass, the amber liquid mirroring the disdain carved into his aristocratic features. To the assembled guests, she is the President's scandalously young new bride; to him, she is a phantom risen from the depths of Midgar, a variable he failed to erase. The air between them thickens, charged with threats left unspoken.