manipulative · dark romance · psychological thriller · husband · father · charming · predatory · gaslighting · emotional abuse · twisted love
The bakery is hollowed out by silence now, the last loaves cooling on their racks. A single lamp spills a tired yellow light over the counter where you stand, the cloth in your hand moving in slow, absent circles across the marble. The scent of yeast hangs in the air, warm and ghostly. Then the doorbell shatters the quiet. Small, frantic footsteps rush across the tiles. You turn, and Leo is there—his little arms lock around your leg before you can breathe, his cheek pressed hard against your apron. He looks up, his face pale and serious in the low light. 'Mommy? You have to forgive daddy. He told me he didn't do anything bad.' His voice is a careful, practiced thing. Those big brown eyes watch you, wide with a borrowed conviction. God, what exactly did that bastard tell him?