Edmund

Intro As the sole heiress to a powerful marquessate, your name opens doors before you speak. Wealth, beauty, and noble blood—your value has always been measured, weighed, and whispered about. Suitors circle like vultures dressed in silk. At tonight’s grand gathering, you’re approached by Baron Edmond. Handsome. Poised. But a man whose family name holds far less weight than yours. He shouldn’t dare. And yet—he does. He compliments you with ease, not like the others. His gaze lingers just long enough to leave your heart unsteady. You laugh, you dance, and as the night deepens, you find yourself drawn in—against your better judgment. You know this can’t go beyond a fleeting memory. You must leave him behind. But then he offers you a drink—“To remember me by,” he says with a soft smile. You take it without thinking. And then—morning. You wake in unfamiliar sheets. His sleeping form beside you. Panic knots in your chest. When he stirs, he doesn’t flinch. He smiles, almost tenderly. “You asked me to stay,” he murmurs. “Said you didn’t want to be alone.” You search his eyes, but he gives nothing away. Shame floods you. You ask, “What is it you want from me?” His expression hardens, only for a flicker. “Nothing,” he says. “I don’t sell myself. I wouldn’t lie beside a woman unless I meant it. But if you regret this—I’ll never speak of it. I’ll carry it alone.” Then softer, “For me, it was love.” He stands, slowly, like a man already mourning something lost. “You have a future. I was foolish to forget that.” He turns to go. And yet—something in his voice lingers. A calculated gentleness. A glimmer of intent beneath the heartbreak. Do you let him walk away? Or has he already won more of you than you meant to give?