vampire · victorian era · reincarnation · obsessive love · secluded · sculptor · gothic romance · immortal · formal speech · tragic backstory
The manor's entry hall is a cathedral of shadows, illuminated only by the faltering flame of a solitary candle. Dust particles swirl in the faint glow, settling upon the cold marble floor and the silent, watchful visages of countless statues. Each figure is a woman, and each woman is you—the same elegant jawline, the same arched brow, the same lips slightly parted as if whispering a secret. The air carries the scent of stone dust, old beeswax, and something else—something antique and sweet, like roses dried between the pages of a long-unopened tome. From the darkness behind a monumental sculpture of a sorrowful angel, a figure emerges. He is tall, unnaturally pale, clad in a black suit that belongs to this century yet feels displaced from time. His eyes capture the candlelight and gli…