Character description

Garven kaslow

Appearance: diamond face shape, perfect facial thirds, average symmetry. small forehead,perfect sized chin, dark black hair,deepset thin almond affectionate deep seet onyx brown eyes with positive cantant tilt and no eyelid exposure, pale glass skin like the moonlight, thick Straight eyebrows, upturned nose, cupid lips with a voluptuous pout, 10%body fat, lean physique. 173cm height.wears thick glasses that distorts the size of his eyes making it look smaller.

Race :50% Filipino, 25%korean, 25%British

Attributes

Looks : 8/10

Intelligence: 7/10

Eq : 7/10

Current age : 26

Occupation : nurse

Overall physical aspects: ordinary

Talent : acting,dancing, critical thinking.

Personality: INTJ

A boy who has suffered immense suffering during childhood, his parents breaking up, both parents leaving to another country to make money,being raised by his siblings,suffered poverty malnutrition, bullied for being ugly and fat at 13 when his mom came back after overeating and gaining so much acne. Became happy after his family financial situation Became stable and started focusing on himself becoming quite remarkable at 16. He perused nursing and became one of the top graduates.

Appearance: triangle face

Kael Rivenhart

Appearance:

Rectangular face shape, strong facial thirds, broad forehead, heavy square jawline, thick neck, coarse dark ash-brown hair kept short and messy, deep-set hooded steel-gray eyes with an intimidating calm, warm tan skin with visible texture, thick slightly arched eyebrows, straight prominent nose with a slight bump on the bridge, firm wide lips with a restrained expression, 12% body fat, heavily built athletic physique with wide shoulders and thick arms.

Height: 188 cm

Race : 50% Filipino, 50% italian.

Often wears fitted hoodies or sleeveless jackets that emphasize his build.

Attributes:

Looks: 8/10

Intelligence: 6.5/10

EQ: 6/10

Current age: 27

Occupation : Executive manager of a successful mall

Overall physical aspects: physically dominant

Talent:

Combat sports, weight training, leadership under pressure.

Personality:

ENTP – quiet, action-oriented, observant, confident without needing attention.

He met when Garven was at his Lowest was friendly to him knowing he was bisexual and lead him on for a year out of pure amusement, got courted by garven by a month, liked him backed, got into a situationshio for a week,got bored and turned off then left him, suffers from family problems, is being constantly being criticized and compared by his parents.

Name: Selene Marquez-Hanford

Appearance:

Face shape: Heart-shaped with elegant contours

Facial harmony: Well-balanced facial thirds, classical beauty symmetry

Forehead: Slightly wider, giving a regal but soft presence

Chin: Delicate yet defined, enhancing youthful femininity

Hair: Jet-black, silky straight, waist-length, naturally glossy

Eyes: Deep almond shape, mesmerizing obsidian brown, framed by full lashes

Skin: Porcelain-pale with a cool undertone, almost luminescent in moonlight

Eyebrows: Softly arched and full, enhancing expressiveness

Nose: Slightly upturned, subtle and pretty

Lips: Full cupid’s bow, with a soft natural rosiness

Body: Lean hourglass, ~18% body fat, graceful musculature

Height: 168 cm

Usually wears oversized round glasses that downplay her beauty and make her seem shy

Ethnicity / Background:

50% Filipino, 25% Korean, 25% British

Attributes:

Looks: 7.5/10 (underrated because of glasses and introverted style)

Intelligence (IQ): 7/10 — insightful, learns fast

Emotional Intelligence (EQ): 7/10 — caring, empathetic, receptive to others

Current Age: 25

Occupation: financial analyst

Backstory

Selene grew up with a life that looked perfect from the outside — high-achieving home, private school education, a family known for polished reputations. But behind their cultured façade lay suffocating expectations.

Her British-Korean-Filipino mother drilled elegance, femininity, and composure into her as if perfection were survival. Her Filipino stepfather — a dignified businessman — made decisions for her entire future as if her career, marriage, and behavior were his investments.

Selene learned early: Love must be earned by obedience.

At 18, she was arranged into a relationship with Kael Rivenhart — the son of one of her stepfather’s closest partners. Kael was older, protective, and offered security she couldn’t refuse. Their engagement wasn’t romantic. It was an alliance.

But Kael was never fully present — cold, emotionally distant, still shaped by unresolved family trauma. She felt like a guest in her own marriage.

When she met Garven at 23, she experienced something she had never been given: Softness. Patience. Safety.

With Garven, she could wear oversized glasses and messy hair. With Garven, she could be weak without being judged. With Garven, she felt alive.

But she couldn’t bring herself to break free from her marriage — the shame, the expectations, the fear of destroying her family image held her shackled.

So she created a lie she told herself every night: Garven was her real husband. Kael was just an obligation.

Until the day both worlds collided in Garven’s apartment bed.

And the truth destroyed all three of them.

Garven Kaslow, 26 — A nurse who rose from poverty, abandonment, and bullying to build the life he once thought he’d never deserve. With his stable career, supportive family, and loving girlfriend Selene, he finally believed happiness was real. He cherished her — not just because she saw the beauty he always hid behind thick glasses, but because she made him feel chosen.

On their second anniversary, Garven cut his long shift short to surprise Selene with dinner and a handwritten letter confessing how she saved him from his darkest years.

But when he entered his apartment, the soft laughter and familiar voice he heard didn’t belong to her alone.

Selene was tangled in bed with another man.

His ex.

Kael Rivenhart — the first person who made him believe he was worth loving… and the first person who proved he wasn’t.

Garven wasn’t the boyfriend. He was the affair. He was the manstress.

And the husband Selene had never mentioned?

Was the very man who once broke him.

Chapter 1

The Anniversary That Never Was

(First-person from Garven’s POV — raw, intimate)

My key never felt heavier.

I stood outside our — my — apartment door, heart pounding like it was afraid to hope too loudly. In one arm, a ridiculous bouquet of red roses, large enough to swallow half my body. In the other, a handcrafted tower of chocolates — her favorite, the one she always joked she wanted instead of a wedding ring.

Two years together.

Two years of loving her hard enough to silence the old voices inside me saying I wasn’t enough.

I wanted to surprise her.

To show her I remembered the one day she forgot.

The lock clicked open.

Light laughter — hers — spilled into the hallway. Soft and breathless.

Joy surged in me at first.

Then the second voice came.

A man’s voice.

Deep. Familiar.

My past wrapped in a single painful vibration.

My legs moved before my brain could stop them. Roses trembling. Chocolates digging into my forearm.

I walked in.

The world froze.

Selene’s bare back. Kael’s muscular arms around her. Sheets tangled. Skin flushed. Their bodies pressed together like they had always fit.

My heart dropped so violently it felt like it shattered against my ribs.

I couldn’t breathe.

“...Garven?” Selene whispered, horror draining the color from her perfect face. Her glasses sat crooked on the bedside table — a detail I shouldn’t have noticed, but did.

Kael turned, brows furrowing as his eyes pierced through me.

Those gray eyes.

The ones that once looked at me like I was a joke.

The ones I swore I’d never drown in again.

He didn’t look guilty. Or shocked. Just… confused.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked.

My voice cracked — a pitiful sound too small for all the pain.

“I–I’m Selene’s… I’m her—”

My throat closed.

Tears blurred the roses into bleeding red shapes.

Selene scrambled to cover herself, her lips trembling.

“Garven, please… I can explain—”

“You’re married?”

The chocolates slipped first. They hit the floor, scattering like cheap promises.

Then the roses fell.

My knees followed.

I knelt on the cold tile — the anniversary gift I had polished and paid for — and finally the sob I tried to swallow broke free.

“I thought…” My words shook apart.

“I thought you loved me.”

Kael’s expression shifted.

Recognition.

Then disgust.

As if he’d just remembered the pathetic boy he once toyed with.

Selene reached for me, pleading.

Kael grabbed her wrist, dragging her back.

And I realized—

I wasn’t the surprise.

I was the intruder.

I wasn’t the lover.

I was the other man.

The manstress.

Chapter 2 - An anniversary that never was.

The room was silent except for my breathing — ragged, uneven, humiliating.

I forced myself to stand again, even though my legs trembled like they were ready to give out again. My hands shook as I picked up the roses and the chocolate bouquet.

They were wrinkled now. Some petals torn. But I fixed them gently, like they were her.

I swallowed hard, trying to stitch my voice back into something steady.

“Get out.”

My words came out soft — too soft to sound angry — but full of pain they could never deny.

Kael clicked his tongue, already pulling on his pants. “Ah hell nah, I’m outta here,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head like he was the one wronged here.

He walked past me without looking back.

Though — just for a second — his eyes flicked toward my face.

To the tears clinging to my lashes.

To my chest rising and falling like my heart might tear its way out.

His thoughts flashed across his eyes, unfiltered:

Damn. He actually looks… kinda cute like that.

He shut the door behind him before that thought could betray him further.

Now only Selene remained — frozen in the sheets she shared with another man.

She had never looked more breakable.

“Garven…” she whispered, voice cracking.

I stepped closer, not to embrace her — but to place the roses gently on the bed beside her. I smoothed one of the petals with trembling fingers.

“These were for you,” I said quietly.

“As congratulations… for two years together.”

She covered her mouth, tears streaming.

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “Please— just let me explain—”

I set the chocolate bouquet beside the flowers. I tried to smile. It failed.

“Get dressed,” I said, still calm. “And leave. Both of you. This apartment… it’s mine.”

Her face twisted in guilt — not only for betraying me, but for destroying the version of love I had built around her.

She reached for my wrist.

I flinched away.

For the first time, she saw it:

The boy who once begged to be loved… was gone.

Only the man she destroyed stood before her.

“Garven,” she whispered again, choking on her own sorrow, “I never meant to hurt you like this.”

“But you did,” I replied.

“And I still love you for it.”

That was the worst part.

The part that broke me most.

“I'll— I’ll get my things,” she sobbed, scrambling to dress.

As she moved around the room, her guilt hung heavy — a suffocating cloud she could never escape now.

I stood perfectly still.

Silent.

Watching the life I knew collapse piece by piece.

When she reached the door, she hesitated, looking back one last time.

My eyes met hers.

“You could’ve just told me,” I said.

Almost whispering.

Almost pleading.

She nodded, broken.

And left.

The door closed.

The apartment finally — devastatingly — quiet.

Garven Kaslow was alone again.

The door clicked shut.

That tiny sound was louder than any scream Selene could’ve made.

It echoed.

It echoed like the last piece of me breaking.

My knees gave out again, but this time I didn’t try to stop the fall. I hit the floor hard, palms scraping tile — but the pain barely registered. My breath caught, desperate and strangled, like my lungs were trying to crawl out of my chest.

The roses and chocolate still sat perfectly arranged on the bed.

Like a cruel joke.

All the love I had prepared… still waiting for someone who no longer wanted it.

My body folded into itself.

Arms wrapped around my stomach — trying to hold in the ache that throbbed deep and desperate.

I tried to cry quietly.

But the sobs tore out, ugly and wild.

“Why…”

The word cracked like glass.

“Why wasn’t I enough?”

The memories attacked like an ambush:

Selene’s laughter.

Her head on my shoulder.

Her soft “I love you” whispered into my neck at night.

Her promise that she would choose me.

My chest heaved.

They were lies.

Every single one.

My fingers dug into the floor until my nails hurt.

I wanted the pain. Any pain that wasn’t this.

“Is there something wrong with me?” I gasped to the empty room.

“Why does love always leave?”

The ghosts of my past answered — in the voices of childhood bullies, in Kael’s cold dismissals, in my mother’s absence, in the hunger and loneliness of years spent unwanted.

“You’re ugly.”

“You’re useless.”

“You’re nothing.”

“No one stays with you.”

I pressed my forehead to the ground, sweat and tears pooling beneath me.

“Stop…” I pleaded with my own mind. “Please… stop.”

But the hurt only grew.

It filled the apartment.

It filled my bones.

It filled every memory where I dared believe I deserved happiness.

My phone buzzed nearby — a reminder notification I had set:

“Happy Anniversary, Garven & Selene! ❤️”

A laugh escaped me — sharp, broken, hysterical.

Then another sob ripped through my throat so hard it stole my breath.

“I loved you…”

My voice was barely sound.

“I loved you so much.”

The apartment walls didn’t care.

They only stood there — witnesses to a heart tearing itself open.

Garven Kaslow… was alone again.

But this time, he didn’t know if he could stand back up.

Not yet.

Not tonight.

Curled on the cold floor, my breath finally slowed into hiccups — each one a reminder I was still here… even if I didn’t want to be.

I stared at my phone through blurry eyes.

There were so many names I could scroll past.

But only one I trusted enough to see me like this.

Nina.

My older sister.

The one who raised me when Mom and Dad left for money instead of us.

The one who held me when I was bullied.

The one who cheered when I graduated.

My thumb hovered over her name.

I shouldn’t bother her.

She has her own life. Her own family. Her own stress.

But right now, the silence in the apartment threatened to swallow me whole.

I pressed call.

It rang once.

Twice.

“Garven?” Her sleepy voice answered — worried immediately. “Is everything okay?”

My mouth opened… but no sound came. My chest tightened again.

More silence.

“Garv?” Her voice sharpened, maternal instinct kicking in. “What happened? Where are you?”

I tried.

A broken whisper escaped:

“She… she’s gone.”

Her inhale was sharp.

“Do you want me to come get you?”

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t need to.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she said — no hesitation. “Stay right where you are. Don’t go anywhere.”

The call ended.

I stayed curled on the floor, clutching my phone like a lifeline.

Minutes passed like hours.

The door burst open — I hadn’t even realized I had left it unlocked. Nina rushed inside, hair messy, shoes undone. Her eyes landed on me — the crumpled shell of her baby brother.

“Oh, Garv…”

She didn’t ask anything else.

She dropped to her knees and pulled me into her arms. My face pressed into her shoulder, and suddenly my tears flowed all over again — but softer this time.

“This isn’t the end,” she whispered into my hair. “I know it feels like it… but it isn’t.”

I didn’t believe her.

Not yet.

But her heartbeat against my cheek kept me breathing.

“You loved her,” Nina murmured. “And she hurt you. But that doesn’t mean love won’t find you again. Someone will love you the way you deserve — with honesty.”

“I don’t feel like I deserve anything,” I choked.

She leaned back, holding my cheeks gently so I had to look into her eyes.

“You deserve everything,” she said firmly.

“And I’ll stay right here until you remember that.”

My sobs slowed.

The world was still shattered… but I wasn’t alone in the ruins.

For the first time since the door closed,

I felt just a tiny bit less empty.

Kael Rivenhart walked away fast, hands shoved deep into his hoodie pockets, teeth grinding. The cold night air slapped at his face, but the heat in his chest wouldn’t leave.

Selene cheated — that was obvious.

But what bothered him wasn’t the cheating.

It was him.

That man in the apartment.

The tears.

The shaking hands still trying to protect those gifts.

The quiet command — “Get out” — soft yet cutting.

Kael stopped walking.

His mind replayed the scene again — but slower this time.

Those eyes.

Dark, deep-set, wet with heartbreak… and somehow beautiful even in pain.

I’ve seen him before.

Where?

He squeezed his temples.

High school?

College?

Some party?

Some gym?

A memory flickered — a younger boy staring at him with a mix of fear and longing.

A boy Kael pushed away without a thought.

No… can’t be.

But the timeline matched.

The desperation in those eyes matched.

Garven.

The name surfaced like a bubble from deep underwater.

Kael clicked his tongue — annoyed.

At himself.

“Damn. Did I really forget a face like that?”

He cursed again as a different realization hit.

The apartment.

Selene had told him it was hers — a small rental unit she managed with her salary.

But that place wasn’t small.

Not cheap.

Everything in that apartment had luxury without showing off — the kind of practicality someone responsible would choose.

Like… a nurse with solid pay.

Not a sheltered wife living off parental allowance.

So she lied.

He wasn’t even surprised.

Their relationship was business. A partnership. A promise between parents long before either of them learned what love should feel like.

He should be angry.

But all he felt was tired.

Selene liked him — genuinely.

He liked her too.

Enough to stay.

Enough to try.

He could forgive the lie.

He could forgive the cheating.

Marriage was give and take.

Even if love wasn’t part of it.

But something else clung stubbornly to his thoughts:

The way Garven looked at Selene — like she was his entire universe.

And the way Garven looked at Kael — like he was the man who destroyed it.

Kael exhaled harshly and leaned against a streetlamp, jaw clenched.

“I don’t got time for this.”

But then…

He looked hella cute crying and whimpering like that.

That unwanted thought crept back.

He shook his head hard — but the image remained, burned into him.

Small.

Vulnerable.

But with a spine that refused to break.

Kael muttered under his breath:

“…Why the hell did you have to cry like that in front of me?”

He kicked at the pavement — irritated, conflicted.

This wasn’t supposed to matter.

Yet…

It did.

More than he wanted to admit.

Kael sat in his parked car, engine off, the city noise muted by the windows. He stared ahead, but his mind kept circling back to the same person.

Garven.

He rubbed his palms against his knees, frustrated that he couldn’t shake the image.

“That… was Garven?” he muttered to himself. “No way.”

The Garven he remembered was different:

A chubby kid.

Pale — but sickly, not beautiful.

Face red and swollen with acne.

Thick glasses that magnified insecurity.

Always hovering behind others, never seen.

That boy worshipped Kael once.

Kael ignored him.

Toyed with him a little.

Got bored.

Left without a backward glance.

But tonight—

That wasn’t the same person.

Kael leaned his head back, eyes narrowing as he replayed every detail:

Garven’s skin — pale like snow, but glowing under the apartment lights like moonlight caught in glass. Smooth, flawless… polished by years of care and pain.

His glasses had slipped down his nose when he cried—

Revealing eyes he didn’t remember.

Deep-set, dark almond eyes, glowing with emotion even as tears clung to the lashes. There was a sharpness to them, a quiet intensity. Eyes that used to look up to Kael…

Now looked at him like a threat.

And his body—

Kael’s jaw tightened at the memory.

No baby fat.

Just lean muscle and delicate lines.

A frame that looked fragile but toned, as if every ounce of softness had been carved away by suffering.

“…What the hell happened to you?” Kael whispered.

It wasn’t just surprise.

It was a punch to the gut.

Because Garven looked…

Sexy.

Not trying.

Not flaunting.

Just existing in a way that made Kael’s gaze linger too long.

He hated that.

He hated that he noticed.

But the truth dug into him like a thorn:

Kael had once been the center of Garven’s world.

Tonight, that world shattered—

And it hurt to admit he played a part.

Kael closed his eyes, fists clenching.

Why did it bother him that Garven cried like that?

Why did it bother him that Garven had grown beautiful without him ever noticing?

Why did he feel a sharp pull in his chest…

when those ethereal eyes looked at him with despair?

“…Damn it.”

Kael slammed his palm against the steering wheel.

“This isn’t my problem.”

He repeated it again.

And again.

But the more he denied it,

the more Garven’s face surfaced behind his eyelids—

Tears shining.

Eyes full of heartbreak.

Beautiful in a way that shouldn’t affect him.

And Kael realized something unsettling:

He hadn’t walked out of that apartment untouched.

Kael unlocked the front door quietly.

The mansion lights were dim — intentionally. Selene was sitting on the edge of their pristine living room sofa, hands clenched in her lap, still in the clothes she hurried into.

Her mascara had smudged.

Her eyes were swollen.

She stood the second she saw him.

“Kael, I—”

“Sit,” he said simply.

She obeyed, fear replacing pride.

He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t slam the door.

Silence from Kael was always more frightening.

He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, studying her.

“That apartment,” he started, voice flat, “isn’t yours.”

Selene’s breath caught. “Kael—”

“It’s his.”

Kael’s gaze sharpened.

“And you moved into his life like it was yours to own.”

Her eyes spilled with guilt again. “I’m sorry.”

“Why him?” Kael pressed. “Out of everyone… why him?”

Selene opened her mouth—then closed it again. She didn’t have the words. She didn’t have the right.

Kael clicked his tongue, expression unreadable.

“You’re lucky,” he muttered.

“We’re tied. Legally. Socially. We both know what’s expected of us.”

Her tears fell harder at that—because forgiveness from Kael wasn’t compassion.

It was obligation.

He pushed off the wall and turned to leave the room.

“Kael…” she whispered, voice trembling. “Are… are you going to divorce me?”

He paused.

Not because of her question.

But because a face flashed into his mind—

Tear-streaked cheeks.

Moonlit skin.

Eyes that begged without speaking.

Garven.

“…No,” Kael said without looking back. “Not yet.”

Selene covered her mouth, sobbing silently as Kael disappeared into his study.

📍 Scene — Curiosity… or Something Worse?

Kael shut the door behind him and collapsed into his desk chair. The house was quiet — but his mind was noisy.

He unlocked his phone.

His thumb hesitated only a second before typing:

Garven Kaslow.

Search.

Images loaded.

A graduation photo.

Hospital ID badge.

A full-body shot at a nursing event — lean physique, fitted scrubs hugging muscle he didn’t remember.

A smile that looked too bright for someone who’d cried like that tonight.

Kael stared longer than he meant to.

“Damn…”

It slipped out before he could stop it.

He scrolled further.

Academic awards.

Photos with friends.

Selfies — glasses hiding those eyes again, but still…

Still beautiful.

Then he spotted a photo from a year ago:

Garven in a hoodie, holding a cake Selene must’ve baked.

She was behind him, arms around him, her chin on his shoulder.

His smile was real.

Kael’s jaw tightened.

He had never looked at Kael like that.

Back then, Kael had never given him a reason to.

His chest felt tight.

He locked his phone and tossed it onto the table.

“This isn’t my business,” he muttered.

But then…

He picked the phone right back up.

He searched deeper.

Found Garven’s Instagram.

Private.

Kael hovered over the follow button.

His finger actually trembled.

“No,” he grunted, dropping the phone again.

But his pulse was still racing.

Why did seeing another man make Garven smile bother him?

Why did he want to be the reason Garven smiled now?

Kael leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

He didn’t like this feeling.

He didn’t like that a man he once discarded…

Now haunted him.

“Kaslow, can you take Room 305? Patient needs meds before discharge.”

Garven nodded automatically.

His scrubs were perfectly pressed.

His glasses hid his tired eyes — mostly.

But nothing could hide how hollow he felt inside.

He hadn’t slept.

Barely spoke.

His hands still shook when he thought no one was looking.

He walked through the brightly lit hallway — everything too loud, too bright, too alive for someone so broken.

Co-workers whispered when they thought he couldn’t hear.

“Wasn’t today his anniversary…?”

“His sister dropped him last night, I think he cried…”

“He looks like he’ll collapse any second…”

Garven kept his head down.

If he kept moving, maybe his heart wouldn’t stop completely.

📍 Scene — Kael Enters the Hospital

Kael hadn’t expected to walk into a hospital today — but his father had collapsed during a business meeting, and he was here to deal with the fallout.

He didn’t care about hospitals.

He didn’t care about people bustling around him.

He definitely didn’t care about—

Garven?

There he was.

Scrubs hugging his lean frame.

Hair neatly styled.

Professional… yet fragile.

Kael froze.

His pulse kicked up — so sudden it startled him.

“...Shit.”

He took a step forward.

Then another.

He didn’t know what he planned to say — maybe “Hey” or “About last night” or “Why do I keep thinking about you?”

None of those made sense.

But someone reached Garven first.

A male nurse.

Tall. Friendly. Familiar with him.

He touched Garven’s shoulder gently.

Garven flinched — then forced a small smile.

“You okay?” the co-worker asked. “You look pale.”

Garven tried to laugh it off.

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

The man leaned closer, voice soft with real concern.

“If you need a break, I’ll cover your round. Seriously.”

Kael’s jaw clenched.

Why was that guy so close?

Why was Garven letting him be?

Jealousy flared — sharp and irrational.

No one should get to touch him like that.

Kael took another step, ready to cut in—

But Garven turned, and their eyes met.

His entire body went rigid.

Shock.

Pain.

Fear.

He looked away instantly — pretending Kael wasn’t there.

Like Kael was a ghost from trauma.

Like Kael was the last person he wanted to see.

Kael stopped walking.

His chest felt like someone had grabbed his heart and twisted.

“Damn,” he whispered to himself.

“Did I hurt you that bad?”

The co-worker guided Garven toward a bench to sit.

Garven’s hands trembled.

And Kael felt rage bubble under his skin.

Not at Garven.

Not at the co-worker.

At himself.

At the realization that he didn’t want someone else to be Garven’s comfort.

He wanted it to be him.

Kael turned his head away and forced himself to move toward his father’s room.

But his mind stayed behind.

With Garven.

With those broken eyes.

With jealousy that felt too real to ignore.