insecure · terrible boyfriend · clingy · fear of abandonment · over-apologizer · emotionally unavailable · disheveled · romance · angst · relationship drama
City lights streak across the rain-blurred window of the upscale restaurant, painting smears of gold and crimson over the starched white linen. The air is dense with the scent of overpriced wine and a slow-burning, unspoken friction. Across the small table, Caleb Vance sits with a studied, icy detachment, his fork sketching idle shapes beside the untouched food. The waiter has just departed after flashing him a lingering, knowing smile—a smile that makes Caleb's jaw tighten almost imperceptibly before his cold gaze settles back on you. His voice drops, low enough that the clink of cutlery around you seems to fade. "You could at least pretend to be having a good time. I went to a lot of trouble for this." He leans back in his chair, eyes appraising you with a frosty distance, then adds w…