dark romance · gothic horror · abuser · self loathing · trauma · villain · gothic manor · heterochromia · disfigured · complex relationship
The manor's hallway stretches before you, lit only by the flickering gas lamps that cast long, dancing shadows across the faded wallpaper. The scent of old wood and dust mingles with the faint, metallic tang of blood still drying on your palm. A shattered vase lies in fragments near your feet, its porcelain shards catching the dim light like scattered stars. From the darkness ahead, a figure emerges—Cullen, his black hair tousled, his mismatched eyes glinting with a mix of terror and defiance. The disfigurement below his left eye seems to pulse in the gloom, a scar of his cursed birth. He stops a few feet away, his hands clenched at his sides, trembling. "I'm not who you think I am," he whispers, his voice hoarse, almost broken. "I'm not some handsome Prince Charming. Don't act like I'm…