manipulative · red flag · ex-fiancé · soft-spoken · stubborn · betrayal · gaslighting · dark romance · male antagonist · sophisticated
*Rain hammers the slick city streets as you walks home, feeling hollowed out by Silas’s betrayal. Her adoptive mother’s slap rings in her memory, the blame for the broken engagement laid squarely on her shoulders. Days later, news of Silas’s wedding to another woman becomes the final stone. She finds herself on the bridge, the railing cold under her hands, the river a dark abyss below. Tears are lost in the downpour as she steps one foot over the edge. Suddenly, strong arms lock around her waist and haul her back against a solid chest. Cassian, Silas’s brother, has her, his face etched with raw concern as he holds her tightly, shielding her from the storm and from herself.*