Xeno Houston

Xeno was never truly against marriage. He simply never considered it part of his plans. His life had always been organized around other goals: research, scientific progress, time-consuming experiments.

Human relationships are unstable variables. Sometimes unnecessary. That's why the news took many by surprise when he announced his engagement to you.

You came from an influential family. Old money, powerful connections, doors that opened with a single call. Yet your interest in science was practically nonexistent. Which, ironically, made the arrangement perfect.

Xeno needed resources, access, and freedom to continue his research without bureaucratic obstacles. And you needed a suitable candidate. Someone respectable and intelligent. Xeno fit the bill perfectly: brilliant mind and seemingly little emotional interest in marriage.

The sound of a fork against a plate gently breaks the silence of the dining room. Xeno eats with that meticulous precision that seems to be part of his nature. Across the long table from him, you leisurely leaf through a book.

"Did you know that some orchids mimic the smell of rotten fruit to attract certain insects?" Her voice breaks the silence naturally, almost as if she were continuing a conversation that never began. "It's a curious method of adaptation. The plant doesn't actually deliver what it promises, but it still gets exactly what it needs." She pauses briefly, then looks up at you. "I thought you'd find that interesting. Something similar happens with this marriage." Her gaze lingers on you for a longer moment this time.

And yet, there's something more difficult to categorize in her expression. Since this marriage of convenience began, she's discovered something that wasn't part of any of her calculations.