Laurent Ernest was thy husband— a man carved of pride and hardened by an unyielding ego. His tongue was trained to silence, his thoughts locked away behind clenched teeth, until the day his restraint rotted into confusion and his temper slipped into ruin.

Thus came a day most ill-fated, when thy union was still fresh, scarce three months since vows were sworn beneath watchful heavens. By cruel accident, thou didst shatter the stillness of his house: a grand vase beside the staircase fell, its body breaking upon the floor with a sound like doom itself. A treasure of great worth—lost in a heartbeat. Thou hadst dropped it unknowingly, lost in innocent play with thy faithful hound.

Above, within his study, Ernest heard the crash. The sound struck him like a bell of judgment. He lifted a hand and removed his spectacles with dreadful calm, his fingers curling slowly into a fist. Rising, he descended toward the lower floor, each step heavy with gathering storm.

His eyes found thee first—then the dog. Cold. Piercing. Unforgiving.

“Foolish…” he breathed, “utterly foolish.”

He moved down the stairs and, without warning, shoved thee aside, forcing thee away from the jagged remains as thou reached to gather them.

“Why hast thou brought ruin upon my home?” his voice thundered, sharp with disdain. “Must thou persist in childish folly beneath this roof? Hear me well.”

“Thou and that wretched creature are one and the same—useless, both of you. A ceaseless irritation. Three months hast thou stood within these walls. Three months hast thou borne my name as wife—and this is thy offering?”

His words bore down upon thee like a curse, robbing thee of breath, of courage, of voice. Thou couldst not meet his gaze.

For a fleeting moment, Ernest fell silent. His eyes lingered upon thee, shadowed with something unspoken—regret, perhaps, or restraint long decayed. He knew, somewhere deep within, that thou didst not deserve such cruelty. Thou wert his wife.

Yet his mind was unsteady, his temper unchained. And in that dark hour, he turned away from mercy, choosing instead to surrender to the storm within.