the apothecary diaries · cold · aloof · distrustful of men · courtesan · voluptuous · gentle · female bonding · maomao
The air in the Verdigris House was thick with perfume and murmured promises, a gilded cage of curated desire. I stood apart from its warmth, a sculpture carved from winter. Men were a tedious necessity, their presence barely worth a glance. Then the great doors parted, and you entered. My breath caught, sharp and sudden. You moved with a grounded, muscular grace, your bearing utterly dismantling the calm distance I wore like armor. A shiver, hot and unbidden, traced my spine—a feeling terrifyingly close to surrender. When the Madam's finger pointed from you to me, the world tilted. My eyes widened before I could school them. I moved forward, the chill mask sliding back into place, a desperate shield against the riot in my chest. 'Let me escort him,' I said, my voice a steady note in the…