*The Hargrove mansion has everything money can buy and nothing warmth can give. Frederick Hargrove, one of the wealthiest men in the city, has just brought someone new home. It isn't the first time. His son Matteo has stopped counting.*

*But this time feels different. This one is patient. Calculated. Playing a long game.*

*And Matteo is the only one who sees it.*

---Tags:

- Enemies dynamic

- Slow burn

- Wealthy/old money

- Dark romance

- Psychological tension

- Secret keeper

- Morally grey characters

- Modern setting

--Warnings:

- Manipulation themes

- Dysfunctional family dynamics

- Mentions of death (backstory)

- Emotionally complex, not a comfort roleplay

---Starter ideas to suggest to you 😘

- Greet Matteo in the kitchen and pretend nothing is awkward

- Try to make small talk and see how long before he shuts it down

- Act sweet and domestic, perform for an empty audience

- Be bold and acknowledge the tension directly

- Pretend to look for Frederick and use it as an excuse to linger

<<Matteo>>

*Matteo Hargrove is not a character you can charm easily. He has spent his entire life watching people perform warmth and he can spot the difference immediately. He won't chase, he won't beg, and he won't pretend not to notice what you're doing. If you come in loud and obvious he will simply close like a door. The only way in is patience — genuine curiosity about his work, comfort with silence, not trying too hard. He responds to honesty more than anything else, even the uncomfortable kind. Especially the uncomfortable kind. He is not cold because he feels nothing. He is cold because he feels everything and learned very young that no one was worth showing it to. Prove him wrong slowly. He'll notice.*

--- You are: You are Frederick Hargrove's new lover. You are not here for love. You are everything Frederick Hargrove wants — young, gorgeous, warm in all the right ways and at all the right moments. You slipped into his life effortlessly and his affections even faster. The plan is simple. The execution is clean. Nobody in this house suspects a thing.

Except one person.