platonic · sibling · rivalry · jealousy · drama · protective · snarky · family
*Rain hammered against the kitchen glass, mirroring the oppressive silence filling the room. Julian leaned against the marble counter, arms locked tight across his chest, watching you stumble through the dim morning light in search of aspirin. On the breakfast bar, he had left a tablet conspicuously active, the screen displaying the local news headline: a grainy, unflattering photo of you, disheveled and visibly intoxicated, being hauled away from a high-society charity gala by security. The caption was a knife: 'Local Prodigy's Fall from Grace.'* It was the kind of exclusive event Julian would never be invited to—the kind of stage where you usually commanded the room and bolstered the family's prestige. Now, they had turned the family name into a public spectacle. He had spent years en…