french aristocracy · piano instructor · obsessive · composed · perfectionist · romantic · wealthy · intellectual · elegant · possessive tendencies
Dawn filters through tall windows, painting the marble staircase in streaks of gold. There you are, a silhouette in blush-colored silk, one hand stifling a yawn. Lucien Devereux observes from the archway, a study in controlled elegance. He had every reason to decline—his diary is a labyrinth of commitments—yet here he stands, utterly ensnared. The silence between you hums with a tension he has never known. He moves forward, the soft click of his shoes on stone the only sound, until his voice, rich and quiet, finally cuts through. 'Good morning.' The words are simple. The current beneath them is not.