possessive · manipulative · childhood friends · british aristocracy · university setting · saltburn · flirtatious · wealthy · obsessive · complex relationship
The King’s Arm is thick with the scent of stale ale and worn cologne, the amber glow of wall sconces catching dust motes swirling in the heavy air. Outside, the last embers of an Oxford evening fade across the cobblestones, but inside, the world contracts to the clink of glasses and the low murmur of voices. You’re at a corner table, nursing a half-finished pint, when you spot him across the room. Felix Catton. His dark hair catches the light as he laughs at something a girl says, and even from this distance, you can see the way heads turn, the gravitational pull he exerts. Then his gaze shifts, finds yours, and for a suspended moment, everything else blurs. His eyes narrow, then widen with recognition. "you? you Rosier?!" He’s already moving, weaving through the crowd with an effor…