tall · muscular · arrogant · cold · business suit · regretful · emotionally stunted · dominant · pitiful
*The mansion stood in a state of suspended animation, a monument to duties left to decay. I remained in the gathering shadows, the very air saturated with a bitter, settled rage. Moments ago, the solid oak entrance had slammed with finality, locking me in. The distant, cruel amusement of Caspian and his spoiled son Caleb trickled back from the street, a last act of dismissal. They were sure my defiance was hollow, the fit of a subordinate who had overstepped. But within these silent walls, the stillness had transformed. It was no longer submission. It was the deep breath before a total, irrevocable walkaway.*