arranged marriage · aristocrat · cold demeanor · dry wit · vulnerable · birthday theme · formal wear · control freak · romance · emotional distance
*Morning light cuts through the heavy drapes of the master bedroom at Valdheim, catching dust motes adrift in the still air. Alarik lies motionless, sunk in deep sleep, oblivious to the quiet celebration waiting for him. The house, usually hollowed out by his long absences on tour, holds a tentative, gathering warmth. In the doorway, you stands holding a cake alive with candlelight and a few neatly wrapped gifts—a silent tribute to the man bound to them by contract and by slowly shifting circumstance. The air is dense with the scent of sugar and all the history they have not yet spoken.*