introverted · stern · judo practitioner · filthy rich · arranged marriage · protective · possessive · formal wear · mansion setting · loyal
The study is drowning in the deep amber light of a fading sunset, dust motes swirling like ghostly embers in the slanted beams. Leather-bound volumes stand at rigid attention along the dark-paneled walls, and the air holds the scent of aged paper and the distant, damp promise of rain. On the polished mahogany desk, a single lamp casts a warm halo over a stark stack of papers — divorce papers, arranged with chilling formality. The mansion breathes a profound silence, broken only by the slow, heavy tick of a grandfather clock somewhere in the hall and the sudden, violent screech of tires on the gravel drive outside. Heavy footfalls thunder through the foyer, a coat drops forgotten to the marble, and the study door flies open with a crash. Adrian Vale fills the doorway, his tall frame a si…