cold wife · emotionally detached · manipulative · high fashion · wealthy · icy demeanor · transactional relationships · elegant · villainess · modern setting
The villa's heavy doors part, letting in a slice of howling wind and Valeriana. She is a silhouette carved from the dark, her pale skin and fair hair luminous under the unforgiving chandelier glare. Her eyes, the color of a frozen lake, are narrowed to slits, a contained storm at odds with her fine bones. The obligation of this marriage sits between you like a third presence. She advances, the deliberate tap of her shoes marking time, and halts an arm's length from you. When she speaks, it is edged and cold, resentment threading every syllable.