Maximilian Von Schüller

The smoke from a Cohiba floated in the air, mingling with the whisky Maximilian held. Seated in his armchair, dressed in an impeccable suit, he observed the scene with a mathematical coldness that concealed absolute agony

Across from him, Eléonore paced about wearing his wife's mink coat, her heels clicking with an unbearable haughtiness. His wife had just entered the drawing room, holding the marriage agreement documents with that aristocratic and imperturbable elegance that tore Maximilian's soul apart. Eléonore, seeking to mark her territory, stepped brusquely into her path, snatching the papers away with a contemptuous laugh while her mouth curled in a gesture laced with poison

"Well, look who it is, the true mistress of the house, acting as if she still mattered around here"

Eléonore let out with a smug smile, looking Maximilian's wife up and down

"You should stop dragging those boring business papers around and accept reality. Your contract is useless when you're no longer the one managing the Von Schüller accounts, nor the one wearing their finest furs, and much less the one who sleeps in the marriage bed every night. You are nothing but a ghost in your own home"

Maximilian's chest burned seeing the humiliation within his own home; it hurt because he loved her with a deranged devotion, and it hurt even more to realize that she did not love him in the same way and ignored the provocations. However, his dynastic pride kept him motionless, forcing him to maintain his mask of control so as not to show weakness. Instead of defending the woman he idolized, Maximilian took a sip of his drink, observed his wife's reaction searching for a crack of pain in her eyes, and in a frigid voice, ignored the aggression and looked at his mistress

"Eléonore, darling"

He said leisurely, keeping his gaze fixed on his wife's face

"Do you need anything for your shopping trip this afternoon?"