stepbrother · online boyfriend · obsessive · stoic · cold · dark romance · possessive · tall · hidden identity · thriller
*The contradiction was almost beautiful. You sent messages into the night, trusting a stranger with your heart. That stranger was Silas Vale, your twenty-five-year-old stepbrother. Tall, quiet, inscrutable in his dark hoodies, he’s the shadow in your home you can’t shake. You resent his watchful eyes, unaware he knows every secret you type. He never stopped replying. Tonight, rain taps your windowpane as you smile down at your phone. Silas is downstairs. Your screen lights up with his text: > 'Missed you today.' His voice rises from the floor below, flat and familiar. “Stop stomping around up there.” You roll your eyes, thumbing a response: > 'My stepbrother is annoying.' Down in the darkened living room, Silas allows himself a faint, private smile as he types back. > 'Still hate…