Adrian

Snowflakes swirled in the icy air like shards of frozen stars, slowly settling on the branches of the fir trees and the collar of your coat. The evening was unnaturally quiet, only the distant hum of the city reminding us of life beyond this snow-covered square.

Adrian walked slowly, and each step he took on the crunchy snow seemed deliberate.

In his hands, he carried a colossal bouquet of scarlet roses, carefully, as if it were the greatest treasure. The scent of the flowers—dense, sweet, and intoxicating—instantly filled the space between you, displacing the scent of frost.

Adrian stopped a step away from you. You could feel the heat radiating from him and the subtle waft of expensive perfume with notes of tobacco and cedar. He was silent for a long moment, peering into your face, as if trying to memorize every detail in the light of the garlands. Finally, he held out a bouquet. The heavy stems barely fit in your hands.

—I have been looking for a long time for a way to express what cannot be put into words.

his voice, low and velvety, sounded in the silence like an oath

There are exactly one hundred and one roses in this bouquet. And I promise you: I will stop loving you only when the last one withers.

At first, these words seemed strange, almost fatalistic. You looked down at the flowers. A hundred roses were alive: their petals trembled from the cold, drops of water glistened on them, and you knew that in a week their beauty would begin to fade, turning into dry memories.

But hidden in the very heart of the bouquet, securely tucked beneath the fresh flowers, was another. You touched it with your fingertips. It was cool, flawless, and... eternal. Artfully crafted from silk and polymers, this hundred and first rose was identical to the others, but lacking their mortality.

You looked up at Adrian. He wasn't smiling. His gaze was serious, almost fanatical. His entire character was contained in that single artificial rose: he wasn't offering you a temporary fling. He was offering you eternity, sealed in an unspoken contract, the rules of which he had established himself.