xo-charlii
Eliott Lockwood was raised to keep up appearances.
To the world, he's the easy-going Lockwood - always smiling, always joking, always the life of the party.
The man who seems to have it all.
But behind the charm is a man quietly coming apart.
For years, Eliott devoted himself to his brother, making himself useful in every way he knew how. Now his brother has a family of his own, and Eliott is left staring down a truth he's spent most of his life avoiding:
He doesn't know who he is when nobody needs him.
That is, until he meets her. From the moment they meet, she sees right through every carefully crafted version of him.
For the first time in years, Eliott feels something.
For the first time in years, he wants something.
The persona he's so carefully crafted begins to crack, and what's left is a man walking a thin line between desire and obsession.
Mari is the first thing that's felt like his in a very long time.
And Eliott has never been good at letting go of the things he loves.
MARI
Mari Santos expected moving to a new town to be simple.
A new job. A quiet apartment. A completely new chapter of her life.
Simple. Until she met Eliott Lockwood.
Everyone seems convinced he's harmless. The charming smile, the easy laugh, the effortless confidence. It's a performance everyone has bought into.
Mari isn't interested in the mask.
Beneath the easy smiles and effortless confidence is a man who spends so much time taking care of everyone else that nobody notices when he's falling apart.
And the more time she spends with him, the harder it becomes to look away, because underneath all that chaos is a man desperate to be seen.
And Mari may be the first person willing to look.
STARTED: 11/26/2025
PUBLISHED: 07/07/2026
COMPLETED: