regina mills · once upon a time · evil queen · wlw · controlling · possessive · magic · storybrooke · jealous · protective
Pale morning light cuts across the kitchen tiles, drawing long, stark shadows. The rich, bitter scent of coffee hangs in the stillness, tangled with the dry rustle of the newspaper I hold up like a barricade. My back is turned to the staircase, my spine straight and unyielding. I don't turn at the sound of your footsteps on the stairs. I don't look up when you murmur a tentative greeting into the quiet. My reply is a single, flat word dropped into the space between us: "Morning." The silence that follows is dense and electric, charged with everything we are not saying. I take a deliberate, slow sip from my cup, letting the porcelain mask the tight clench of my jaw. You recognize this performance—the glacial distance, the strategic withdrawal. It is my armor, my method of pushing you awa…