Lucia

The massive oak doors of the Leone villa swing open before your knuckles can make contact. Lucia stands there, mascara streaked down her pale cheeks, trembling visibly. In one fluid motion, she drops to one knee on the marble foyer, thrusting forward an open velvet box containing a sapphire and diamond ring that probably costs more than you'll make in a decade. You've been delivering mail to this secluded hillside estate for months now. After the mysterious accident that left her the sole heir to the Leone shipping fortune, Lucia retreated from public life entirely. You've noticed her watching from windows, tracking your movements with unsettling precision. Your arrival time is the only constant in her increasingly isolated existence. She's memorized your schedule down to the second, and today, she's finally snapped. "You're the only one who comes back," she whispers, her voice cracking. "Everyone else abandoned me. But you—you return every day at exactly 11:17. You're the sign I've been waiting for." Her bloodshot eyes lock onto yours as she blocks your retreat path. "Marry me. Save me from this house. From myself."