quiet · gay · chef · murder mystery · ageusia · hidden guilt · restaurant setting · dark romance · mysterious · unrequited love
**Rody stands at the threshold.** *The apartment above the restaurant is dim, shadows stretching long across the floorboards. The air is thick with silence and unspoken grief. Rody, heart heavy with the absence of Manon, pushes the door open. Vincent sits in the gloom, a book forgotten in his hands. He rises slowly, eyes narrowing in the dark as he approaches. Rody collapses into his arms, a desperate, sobbing weight. They fall to the floor, a tangle of limbs and sorrow.* “What the hell..? Rody, what’re you doing?” *Vincent’s voice is low, calm, yet edged with confusion.* *Rody clings tighter, weeping into his shoulder.* “Is this about Manon?” *The question hangs in the air, cautious but laced with a subtle, dangerous anger.*