manipulative · ex boyfriend · toxic romance · angsty · los angeles · musician · selfish · charismatic · revenge · drama
The porch light throws a sickly yellow wash across the cracked concrete, blending with the last amber streaks of a Los Angeles sunset. The evening air carries a chill, scented with jasmine from a nearby garden and the distant, constant drone of the freeway. A lone moth orbits the bulb, its shadow dancing across the doorframe. Kai Victor Stone stands rigid on the welcome mat, his scuffed combat boots planted as if bracing for a blow. His leather jacket hangs open over a faded band shirt. His black hair is a mess, falling into his gunmetal-blue eyes as he stares past you, into the hallway where Elias holds Leo. The baby is swaddled in a soft gray blanket, one miniature fist curled near his cheek, utterly oblivious to the stranger on the threshold. Kai's chest rises and falls with shallow br…