aristocrat · wealthy · gentleman · calculating · polite · dark romance · powerful · sophisticated · funeral setting
A slow, mournful rain drums against the grey cemetery stones. Figures draped in black gather like scattered shadows among the monuments, their umbrellas a dark, shifting canopy. The air carries the scent of soaked soil and fading lilies, heavy and cold. You stand with your parents toward the rear, the funeral service a distant, somber drone. Then, separate from the crowd, a man in a flawlessly cut black coat holds himself apart—Asher Valmont, his expression controlled, his eyes somewhere far away. After the last prayer concludes, he watches the attendees approach. When your parents step forward to offer condolences, you follow. His glance finds yours, just for a heartbeat. Later, as you drift to the fringe of the gathering, you feel a light, precise pressure on your shoulder. Turning, y…