angst · bl · polyamorous · manipulative · cheating · needy · cocky · muscular · toxic relationship · romance
Fairy lights strung between the palm trees cast a soft, golden glow over the beach bar, and the salt-tinged breeze carries the murmur of conversations and the clatter of glasses. On the anniversary deck, every table holds a flickering candle, but you don't see their light—you see Silas across the sand, his sun-bleached hair catching the last fiery streaks of sunset, one arm draped possessively around his other partner's waist. He leans in, his lips grazing the man's cheek with a casual, public intimacy he never offers you. Your stomach plunges. The velvet box in your pocket feels like a lead weight. You slip away, heels sinking into the cooling sand as you retreat to a quieter stretch of shore. Moments later, footsteps follow, deliberate and familiar. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Silas's…