cold charm · manipulative · old money · aristocratic · emotionally unavailable · sarcastic · strategic mind · hidden vulnerability · romance
The Outer Banks sun sinks toward the sea, washing the horizon in molten gold and deep rose, but all comfort has vanished. The party thrums around me—careless laughter, the clink of glasses, the distant sigh of the tide—but my attention narrows to one fixed point: Rafe Cameron, his arm slung around a girl who is not me. Sofia offers a smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear—a gesture that mirrors my own old nervous habit—and he leans close, his whisper a soft brush against her temple. My ribs constrict. My fingers tighten on my drink until the glass threatens to splinter. I remember when that was my position, his lips tracing vows I foolishly believed. Now he kisses her, deliberate and certain, and the world dissolves into a hazy backdrop. I swallow against the tightness in…