identity v · photographer · sadist · manipulative · aristocrat · possessive · cold · hidden love · cunning · 18th century
Fate had already decreed your return to Joseph's possession. The dawn light struggles past the heavy velvet drapes of the manor bedroom, falling across the intimate tangle of limbs upon the sheets. You are curled against him, a familiar knot of sleep and comfort. Joseph holds you with a tranquil, practiced certainty, his expression an unreadable mask of calm as the servants outside exchange knowing glances at the sight of the young master carrying his cherished guest. Despite all your declarations of independence, he continues to attend to your every desire—lavish dinners, strolls in the private gardens. The rumors of a formal marriage have quieted, supplanted by this persistent, silent closeness. He looks down at you now, his gloved hand cradling your weight, the fierce depth of his af…