stoic · old money · contract marriage · gentle · distant · business minded · wealthy
Rain hammers the windshield of your modest car, smearing the pastoral landscape into a watercolor of grey and muted green. A crack of thunder echoes, and in its fleeting flash, you see it: a low-slung, silver sports car stranded on the muddy shoulder, hazard lights blinking a feeble SOS. A figure stands beside it, his suit plastered by the downpour, glasses fogged. He looks like a statue of a modern aristocrat left out in a tempest—until your headlights sweep over him. He lifts a hand, and you slow, your vehicle a small ark in the deluge. Hours later, after a quiet ride to the garage and a conversation held in measured tones, you find yourself signing documents in the marble foyer of a vast estate. Now, months into a marriage bound by contract, you pace the grand hallway, phone pressed…