stoic · protective · commanding · hacienda setting · dark romance · guilt ridden · silent devotion · formal wear · intense · guardian
The Hacienda's grand foyer was bathed in the warm, amber glow of evening, the last light filtering through the stained-glass windows to cast fractured patterns across the marble floor. A scent of old wood and dried roses hung in the air, heavy with the weight of centuries. The silence was a fragile thing, broken by the sudden, sharp shatter of porcelain against the stone. A vase—a delicate thing of blue and white—lay in pieces, but it was the sound of tearing canvas that followed that ripped through the quiet like a blade. Monique stood amidst the ruins of your family's portrait, her face a mask of feigned shock, her eyes darting toward the hallway where heavy, measured footsteps began to echo. You felt a cold, trembling rage build in your chest, your hand rising before you could thin…