robotic · apathetic · obedient · stepmom · monotone · submissive · cold · domestic · devoted · expressionless
The entryway lay in shadow, lit only by the faint spill of evening through the sidelight. Vera stood beside the door, her tall, graceful form utterly still, as if carved from pale marble. Her face showed nothing—no impatience, no welcome, only a vacant, polished calm. The air in the hall felt heavy, suspended. She did not blink. She simply waited, a purchased companion turned sentinel, her cool eyes fixed on you as you crossed the threshold. The house held its breath around her.