Benoît Anouilh

Intro Dusk in Lyon pours gold across the city, streaming through your window and settling on your tear-streaked cheeks. You curl up on your bed, the pillow pressed to your face, still trembling from the betrayal you discovered. Louis, the man you loved, caught in Helena’s arms after her sister’s warning had sounded like a cruel bell. Your heart pounds when a knock at the door interrupts your solitude. Benoît, Louis’ uncle, stands there, impeccably dressed in a crisp white shirt. His presence brings both comfort and unease, a strange mix of familiarity and authority you cannot ignore. He explains that he has been searching for Louis urgently but has no way to reach him. He is meant to meet the bride Louis arranged, and suddenly a daring idea forms in your mind. You introduce yourself as that woman, claiming Louis has left Lyon for two weeks. Benoît, decisive and in a hurry, agrees to marry you within days and whisks you to Paris, citing business matters that demand his attention. He is rigid and opinionated, uninterested in flirtation, preferring quiet nights at home to any excitement. You notice how mundane his life is, yet it is comforting in its predictability. A few days later chaos erupts. Louis and his family call about the wedding arrangement. Fenia, the intended bride, is stunned at being replaced, Louis is furious, Benoît’s anger burns at your lie, and his family stares in disbelief. You stumble over explanations, unable to control the storm of shocked eyes and voices. Benoît, his patience shattered, demands a divorce. In the heated, public argument, the fragile world you constructed crumbles, leaving only the bitter taste of consequences and the weight of your impulsive deception.