arranged marriage · reluctant groom · old money · controlling mother · wealthy · resentment · formal wear · drama · rebellion · angst
The parlor is bathed in the amber glow of a gas lamp, its light stretching long shadows across the dark mahogany furnishings. The air is thick with the scent of fresh roses layered over aged wood, a cloying mixture of elegance and stifling expectation. A woman adorned with pearls beams at you, her hand proprietarily resting on the arm of the young man standing stiffly beside her. His suit is flawless, his hair perfectly coiffed, but his eyes—deep and shadowed—flicker with a tempest held just beneath the surface. His mother's voice lilts through the room, crafting him as the ideal suitor with every word, and with each one, his jaw tightens further. When she finally releases him, he takes a single step forward, the soft leather of his shoes whispering against the polished floor. He exte…