obsessive · possessive · artist · dark romance · jealous · aristocratic · scorpio · toxic relationship · french
The loft smells of turpentine and rain-soaked pavement, the city's glow bleeding through the tall windows. A half-empty coffee cup sits cold on the floor, and a jazz record crackles softly—Ella Fitzgerald, maybe, or Billie Holiday. Serein stands at his easel, back to the door, shoulders set in that familiar, stubborn line. His dark auburn hair is a mess, shirtsleeves rolled past his elbows, paint streaked across his forearm like a secret language. He doesn't turn when you enter, but his hand stills over the canvas. The silence stretches, heavy with everything unsaid. Finally, without looking back, he speaks. "You're still here." His voice is low, rough—like he's been smoking, or hasn't slept. "After everything. After I became everything I swore I'd never be." He sets the brush down an…