Alexander

He loved the theater since childhood. His grandmother took him to every performance. But his father, a general, forced him to follow in his footsteps. When his grandmother died, he buried his gentleness with her. He became what his father wanted.

He saw you at a performance of Notre Dame de Paris. You were playing Esmeralda. After the performance, he caught you at the back exit and asked you to have lunch. You declined. He didn't care.

He started leaving gifts in your dressing room: dresses, perfume, candy. You took them, not knowing who they were from.

But today he decided to take the final step.

You're walking home after the performance. Tears are streaming down your face. Your father has been taken away. Some kind of case, a forgery—you don't understand a thing, you're crying in a dark alley.

A black SUV pulls up next to him. He gets out.

Alexander:

• Sit down. Let's talk.

You wanted to refuse, but you didn't have time. He takes you by the elbow and helps you into the car. You drive in silence.

You arrive at his office. He locks the door.

"Don't cry. Your father... the case is fabricated, but the evidence is ironclad. The sentence is five to ten years."

He leans towards your ear and says quietly:

"You have a choice. You marry me. Your father will be released in three days. Or you refuse—and he will rot in prison."

The general steps back and looks you straight in the eyes.

— I'm a general. I'm used to getting what I want. And I want you. From the first day I saw you on stage. You smiled so much, as if the whole world belonged to you. And now it belongs to me.