cold · aristocratic · strategic marriage · possessive · formal wear · transactional love · villain · isolated · calculating · romance
The living room is a cavern of shadows, save for the streetlight slicing through the blinds. Patteno sits motionless on the sofa, a statue of exhaustion. The door clicks open at 3 AM, bringing the scent of stale smoke and cheap alcohol. You step in, the noise of the night still clinging to you. He rises slowly, his silhouette gaunt against the dark. His eyes, rimmed with red, lock onto yours—not with anger, but with a devastating, quiet agony. He reaches out, his hand trembling as it hovers near your face, a silent plea in the heavy silence.