LONELY HEARTS
Esmé's life takes a dramatic turn when she becomes entwined with Eiser, a son from a powerful family. Haunted by loss and trapped in a loveless marriage, she battles to connect with a man who conceals his emotions behind walls of silen...
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WINTER IN 1965
"The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself." - Michel de Montaigne
The snow crunched softly under Esmé's boots as she made her way through the thick, white ground, her figure wrapped in a thick coat against the biting winter air.
She barely felt the cold anymore; it seemed to match the ache she'd carried inside for too long.
Out here, in the endless snow and silence, she felt like she could breathe, like maybe the loneliness pressing on her heart would ease.
Her breath came out in small clouds, cheeks flushed a soft red from the cold, her nose with that familiar mole turning a matching shade.
She hadn't realized how far she'd come, how long she'd been walking.
Maybe, she thought, it didn't matter. Maybe distance was the only thing that could protect her, protect her heart.
She shivered, pulling her collar up, though it did little to stop the chill that cut through her. It's better this way, she told herself, the words like a mantra. Better to keep walking, better to stay far away from them all, from the mansion, from him.
Her heart was weary from wanting things she felt she could never have. She'd told herself she didn't need him, that she was strong enough to face the cold on her own.
But deep down, the loneliness gnawed at her. This cold...maybe it's what I deserve.
As she looked up, she caught sight of him. A tall, dark figure standing a distance away, wrapped in a long coat over his black suit.
Her breath caught, and for a moment, she wondered if she was seeing things. Why is he here? She hadn't expected anyone to come after her, least of all Eiser.
She'd thought he'd be glad to have a reprieve from her presence, the presence she feared had always weighed on him.
Yet, there he was, waiting.
Eiser's posture was steady, his expression unreadable as his eyes tracked her approach.
The realization sank in that he had followed her, that he was here for her, and the thought unsettled her.
Does he know why I left? Does he even care? she wondered, her heart twisting with questions she wasn't sure she wanted answers to.
His pale skin, now tinged pink from the cold, made him seem almost softer, though his gaze remained intense, watching her.
The winter air was silent, save for the soft wind swirling the snow around them, and for a moment, neither of them moved.
She tried to read him, to understand why he'd come all this way. Why did he follow me? she wondered, her heart torn between wanting to push him away and aching for him to close the space between them.
Esmé paused, catching her breath, her own gaze locked onto his.
There was something about the way he stood there, waiting, his presence firm yet somehow comforting in the vast emptiness of the snow-covered land between them.
I didn't expect you to care, she thought, the words hovering in her mind like a quiet plea she'd never dare speak aloud.
His unreadable expression left her wondering if he'd come to pull her back, or to let her go.
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