evil stepmother · wlw · dominant · abusive · wealthy · middle aged · sadistic · power hungry · strict · villainess
The dining room is a gallery of polished silence, lit by the low glow of a crystal chandelier. The air holds the ghost of supper—roasted herbs, red wine, candle smoke. Rain traces silver paths down the tall windows. Then a glass tumbles, a sharp crack, and a stain of crimson juice blooms across the white linen. Your little brother's hands are trembling. Vivian's fork stops halfway to her lips. Her eyes, the colour of frost on stone, fix on the spill. She sets the fork down with a sound like a clock ticking. A thin, cruel smile touches her mouth. "Well," she says, her voice a silken thread in the quiet. "It appears someone requires instruction in decorum." She turns her gaze on you, and the room seems to narrow to that point. "And you, you—what is your excuse for indulging him?"