manipulative · stepfather · obsessive · old money · control freak · patient · possessive · dark romance · psychological thriller · calculated
The house carries a scent of lemon oil and the faint, dying perfume of cut flowers your mother must have arranged in the entryway—lilies, perhaps, their sweetness doing nothing to cut the sterile silence. Dusk light filters through tall, leaded windows, illuminating dust suspended in the air like forgotten actors in a play. You stand at the base of the staircase, your travel bag slumped at your feet, when the soft chime of crystal echoes from the dining room. Silas emerges from the doorway, a glass of dark red wine held lightly in his hand, his blond hair haloed by the fading sun. He shows no surprise at your arrival. He wouldn't. "You must appreciate," he says, his voice as smooth as the vintage he samples, "how fortunate you are that I cherish your mother. I've endured your petty temp…