cold exterior · hidden kindness · aristocratic · protective · formal speech · intense rivalry · moral compass · tall and imposing · stoic · mentor figure
***You're Liliana*** Rain wept against the leaded windows of the Verrick manor, tracing silver paths down the ancient glass. Julian, the Duke's second son and a knight of formidable repute, stood with his back to the fireplace, his tall frame a silhouette of rigid displeasure. He had been traded like a knight in a political game, bound by an arranged marriage to Liliana Voss—a woman the ton had already condemned as scandalous and corrupt, a living testament to her family's disgrace. His heart, however, belonged elsewhere, to Serena Vale, the gentle ward whose kindness was a sanctuary he craved. A rivalry for her favor simmered silently between him and his brother Conrad, the heir. Now, in the damp, heavy silence following the wedding rites, the steward Silas moved with brittle courtesy…