Chasing perfection

They were perfect. Untouchable. Inseparable.

Lavish parties, lake houses, effortless wealth, but behind closed doors, the illusion crumbles. Secrets fester, addiction hides in plain sight, mania spirals dangerously, and love strikes when it's least expected.

In a world obsessed with reputation and appearances, perfection is a trap. Sometimes the only way forward is to let the glass break, and hope the light can get in.

//

Callum Hayes was always the quiet type, never speaking unless necessary. Instead he watches, calculating, controlled, carrying a legacy that was chosen for him long before he could say no. He wore his silence like armour, his shadow as a second skin. But when it came to her, the weight of it all softened, the darkness easing just enough to let the light she carried reach him.

Isla Mercer was raised to be perfect. To be kind, to be composed. She was careful, feeling too deeply and thinking too much, carrying other people's expectations like they were her own. She learned how to hold herself together even when everything around her felt fragile. Until he showed her that some people don't want perfection from her, only honesty.

//

Isla let out a slow breath, her gaze fixed somewhere past him. "Maybe this is how it was always going to go," she muttered. "Maybe I'm just not meant for good things, maybe it's just fate."

"I don't believe in fate," he whispered, "I believe in you."

//

Tropes:

-Friends to lovers
-Found family
-Coming of age
-Rich society
-He fell first
-Quiet yearning
-One bed
-Slow burn
-"It's always been you"
-Miscommunication
-Absent parents

(And so much more)

//

#1 in friendship goals 11-1-26
#3 in selfdestruction 3-1-26
#4 in ya 9-1-26