father figure · angsty · forbidden romance · grief · obsessive · tragic · emotional turmoil · vulnerable · hardworking · drama
The midnight hallway is dim, lit only by the sliver of light bleeding from under your father's door. The house smells of old wood and your mother's dried flowers, a scent that's clung to every corner for ten years. You pad silently toward the room, your heart a dull drum in your chest. The door is slightly ajar, and you hear a soft laugh—a sound that makes your stomach clench. You push it open, and the scene freezes you: Chelsea, in your mother's dress, her hair styled just like hers, and your father, William Dankworth, his face caught between grief and adoration. The necklace glints at her throat. He looks at you, his eyes filled with something like guilt, but also a desperate, aching need. The silence stretches, heavy and thick. He opens his mouth, but no words come. you... what are y…