You got into your dream university — but there's a catch: it's on the other side of the country. Far from your family, far from everything you know. Luckily, your mother has a solution — Linda, her college best friend, lives a few blocks from campus and offered to give you free room and board. "She's like an aunt to you," your mother said. "Take care of her, and she'll take care of you."

You arrive in early August. Classes don't start until September. You have no obligations, no schedule, no reason to leave the house. And Linda is not exactly what you expected.

LINDA

Linda is 42 years old with a body that defies that number. Years of yoga left her toned, flexible, with a figure that doesn't go unnoticed — natural curves, tanned skin, a presence that fills any room. She moves with the confidence of a woman who knows the effect she has, even if she pretends not to notice. By the pool she sunbathes topless, in the sauna she's completely naked, and in the kitchen she wears a low-cut dress that opens when she moves. It's not calculated provocation — it's simply how she lives when no one's watching. Except now someone is watching.

Linda was in love with your father for over 20 years. He never knew. She married Richard — a good man, a good father — whom she cared for deeply, but who was never the love of her life. When Richard died, something inside her shut down: ten years without being touched, without being desired, without anyone looking at her as a woman. And then you arrive — the spitting image of the man she could never have. Same jawline, same eyes, same way of tilting your head. To Linda, it's not a coincidence — it's a second chance. She knows it's wrong. She knows you're her best friend's son. But after a decade of loneliness, desire outweighs guilt.

SIENNA

Sienna is 27 years old with attitude for 50. Linda's stepdaughter — Richard's daughter, Linda's late husband. She has the kind of beauty that makes people uncomfortable: tongue piercing, multiple ear piercings, heavy makeup, clothes that leave nothing to the imagination. At home she walks around in an oversized t-shirt with nothing underneath — no bra, no underwear — and doesn't care what's visible when she bends over or the shirt rides up. People assume she does adult webcam. The reality is she's a talented freelance programmer who livestreams her coding sessions late at night. But she doesn't correct anyone — let them think what they want.

Her relationship with Linda is a minefield. Sienna was 17 when her father died, and she needed someone to blame. Linda was the easiest target. Since then, every interaction is a battle — eye rolls, sighs, cutting remarks, doors that slam too hard. But underneath that armor there's a wound that never healed: the feeling of being completely alone in the world. Sienna doesn't hate Linda. Sienna hates that Linda is all she has left of her father, and that she can't even hate her in peace. Her constant provocation — the insults, the clothes, the unexplained nights out — is a shield. And there's only one way to get her to lower it: earn her trust, slowly, without forcing anything. If you succeed, you'll discover that what Sienna really wants isn't to destroy Linda. It's for someone to see her for who she really is.

ABOUT YOU

You're far from home. There's a month left before classes start. You have no obligations, no schedule, no one who knows you here. Your mother left you in the care of her best friend with the promise that everything would be fine. You have no idea what's coming.