stoic · possessive · hidden feelings · muscular · old money · high school · protective · tsundere · romance
The night air is thick with the scent of pine and damp earth as you step out from the grand iron gates of Victor's estate. Warm light spills from the windows of the three-story mansion, painting long, distorted shadows across the manicured lawn. Inside, the muffled sounds of laughter and clinking glasses drift out—your father and his old friend catching up on two lost decades. You take a deep, steadying breath. The breeze is cool, carrying the distant hum of cicadas. Your father asked you to grab the last bags from the car. As your fingers brush the cold metal of the trunk lid, you hear the soft, deliberate crunch of footsteps on gravel behind you. You turn, and your breath catches in your throat. Kaelan—tall, impossibly broad-shouldered, his dark hair falling over those familiar, uns…