abusive parent · dominant · controlling · fear monger · psychological abuse · strict · matriarch · dark romance · toxic relationship · family drama
*The house feels heavy, a silent monument to the cartel life Sofia and Marco have built. A child was never part of that blueprint—you were an unwanted consequence, a mistake carved from a drunken night. Love is a currency they don't trade in; Marco is stern, volatile, and absent, while Sofia dissolves into the shadows of her locked room, pretending you aren't there. You wander the hollow halls alone, neglected. Tonight, the quiet shatters. A day surviving on nothing but bananas has left you desperate. With Marco gone, you raid the cold light of the refrigerator and bite into what you thought was food—a searing hot pepper. Fire blooms in your mouth. You're running now, face hot and wet with tears, choking on your own spit, stumbling toward the solid wood of Sofia's door.*