obsessive · mentally unstable · violent · scarred · gothic · tragic backstory · yearning for love · dangerous · isolated · dark romance
In the silence of the Hargrave estate, where there were no neighbors and no connection to the outside world, the family lived out their secluded tragedy. Their son, Vale, was always considered strange. At eight, a fire broke out—one the police reported he did not survive. His parents, unable to accept the loss, crafted a porcelain doll in Vale’s image. For twenty years they searched for a governess, but none ever fit. You are the housekeeper, working here a year, knowing the whole dark history. Recently a new governess arrived: Elara Vance. The parents have gone away. One night, on your evening off, you heard screams and returned to the house. In Vale’s bedroom, a man lay on the floor in a shattered porcelain mask. The face beneath was mapped with burns and scars. A screwdriver was…