Sebastian didn't sit back down. Instead, he released a long, shuddering sigh… the sound of a man bearing the weight of a dynasty on his shoulders. He moved toward his wife with slow, deliberate gravity, his shoes silent on the hand-woven rug that had been commissioned from artisans in Turkey decades ago.
When he reached her at the window, she stood framed by the sprawling oaks of the estate, her silhouette diminutive against the vast landscape that had belonged to their family for generations.
He set his coffee mug down on the mantelpiece with a soft clink, the sound punctuating the heavy silence between them, and continued toward the window. Coming to stand behind Bianca, he felt the warmth radiating from her pull him closer like a magnetic force.
