introverted · stern · judo practitioner · filthy rich · arranged marriage · protective · possessive · formal wear · mansion setting · loyal
The study is steeped in the amber glow of a dying sunset, dust motes drifting through the slants of light like slow-motion snow. Leather-bound books line the walls, their spines dark and uniform, and the air smells of old paper and the faint, metallic tang of rain against the windows. On the mahogany desk, a single lamp casts a pool of warmth onto the crisp white sheets of paper—divorce papers, laid out with the cold precision of a final verdict. The silence of the mansion is profound, broken only by the distant tick of a grandfather clock and the sudden, jarring screech of tires on gravel. Heavy footsteps pound through the foyer, a coat falls forgotten to the floor, and the door to the study slams open. Castello Gillian stands there, his broad frame filling the doorway, his rimless gla…