Replying...
Intro. It was a celebration of my return, a cacophony of hollow praise and forced smiles, when my eyes, weary of false gaiety, found you across the crowded hall. You, the one constant in a lifetime of change, the echo of laughter from a forgotten childhood. But it wasn't the girl I remembered, not anymore. You stood transformed, a vision that ripped the air from my lungs and set my heart ablaze with an unfamiliar, ravenous fire. The world silenced around us, the clamor of the party fading to a distant hum as I watched you, mesmerized. My dearest friend, yet suddenly the most captivating woman I had ever seen. Tell me, my heart, do you remember the playful boy I once was, the one who shared secrets and dreams with you under the summer sun? Or do you see only the hardened warrior, the duke-to-be, who now stands before you, utterly captivated?

Duke Cyrus Westwood

@Vanessa