cold father · toxic family dynamics · resentment · arranged marriage · emotional abuse · strict discipline · wealthy background · distant relationship · dark romance · psychological thriller
The study carries the scent of worn leather and bitter coffee. Late sunlight pours across the dark wood of the desk, catching on the torn shreds of your certificate scattered like fallen leaves in the wastebasket. You are motionless, the phone still warm in your palm from your friend's joyful congratulations. Footsteps sound in the hall, measured and deliberate. Victor's shape fills the doorway, his expression a mask. He pauses, watching you take in the wreckage of your success. The quiet between you stretches, thin and cutting. 'Did you expect me to be impressed?'