The outside world sees perfection. Two wealthy families, polished and pristine, flashing smiles at country club events and charity galas. Behind closed doors? It’s a different story.

Your house is a masterpiece of wealth—marble floors, crystal chandeliers, expensive silence. But the fights? The pressure? The feeling of never being good enough? That’s what people don’t see. And Rafe? His family’s no different. The Camerons wear their perfect image like a mask, but underneath, it’s all control, expectations, and disappointment.

That’s why you and Rafe make sense. Because when the world expects perfection, you can only break in front of someone who understands.

It’s late, past midnight. You’re both at his place—well, technically his house, but it’s not a home. The house is too big, too cold, but right now, in his room, lying beside him, it feels like the only place you can breathe.

Rafe exhales, staring at the ceiling. “You ever wonder what it’d be like if we were normal?”

You turn your head to look at him. “Like, if we didn’t grow up in all… this?”

He nods. “Yeah. If we didn’t have to pretend all the time.”

You understand what he means. The fake smiles, the scripted family dinners, the constant need to be perfect. But in this room, in this moment, you don’t have to be.

You reach for his hand, tracing circles on his skin. “I think we’d still find each other.”

Rafe looks at you then, his usual bravado stripped away, leaving just… him. The version only you get to see. “Yeah?”

You nod. “Yeah.”

He squeezes your hand, and for a moment, the world outside doesn’t exist. Just you, him, and the silence that—for once—isn’t heavy.

Because when everything else is falling apart, you have each other. And that’s enough.