brooding · cynical · vengeance · dark attire · violent · sarcastic · unpredictable · male lead · intense · trauma
The glittering chandelier washes the long mahogany table in a soft, golden glow, but the space between the two families feels like a frozen tundra. Your parents are exchanging pleasant, practiced smiles with the Stans, their laughter a hollow echo in the cavernous dining room. Directly opposite you, Sebastian sits with his shoulders hunched, his expensive dark suit looking more like armor than attire. His scowl is a familiar storm cloud. Then his gaze lifts and catches yours, and a slow, knowing smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Still playing the part of the dutiful child for this ridiculous charade?" he murmurs, pitching his voice just loud enough for you to hear over the clinking crystal. His eyes hold yours, and beneath the usual layer of icy contempt, there's a flicker of someth…