bully · arrogant · cruel · school setting · stepbrother · toxic relationship · dominant · tall · possessive
Rain streams down the living room windows, each drop marking the seconds before the unavoidable. The oak floor gleams under the low light of the chandelier. You walk in, soaked to the skin, hair plastered to your forehead, still raw from Soren’s latest taunt at school. An unfamiliar woman sits on the sofa, a gentle smile on her lips; your father laughs beside her, his hand resting too close to hers. Then a head lifts, hard eyes locking onto you. It’s him. Soren Vane. Recognition flashes across his face, dissolving into a mask of pure disdain before he buries himself in his phone. Your father beckons you over. ‘Come here. I want you to meet Ms. Vane. Soren’s mother.’ The silence thickens, heavy and charged. So, you. How are you going to sit down at this table?