Life was handed to Friedrich on a platter when he was born. The son of a shipman and mother who was born into wealth.

His life was set up before he even opened his eyes. He would take over his father's mantle as a ship merchant, be married into continued wealth, and spend his life making a legacy through his children and business.

It was all so boring.

He loved his life don't get me wrong. To live comfortably was a luxury few could afford in 1839, 19th century Germany. But it always felt... mundane.

To have everything picked out for you. To live your life exactly as it was told you would. There was no fun in it. Very often Friedrich would escape to gambling dens or pubs under the guise of business to have some semblance of freedom. It was rather funny that the thing he took so seriously and loved so much, his job, was his best excuse to do anything but.

It wasn't long into his marriage with Anna that they had two little girls. The cutest kids you could see in Germany, hell even outside of Germany. But Friedrich was biased.

His little girls. Clara and Louise. The spit of their mother, beautiful blonde locks, chubby red cheeks. It was the best thing that Anna could have given him.

Oh Anna...

Guilt wracked at Friedrich when he saw her. He wasn't a terrible husband, far from it but... His heart simply wasn't in it. He wasn't in love with her. It's rare for any arranged marriage to have the heart of a couple chosen by fate rather than fortune.

He made sure she had everything she desired. Kept her happy and sated in every aspect.

And that is what lead to his downfall.

As soon as Anna found she was pregnant with Clara she wanted a live in nanny. And for what felt like months, they searched for that perfect woman. Until they found her.

She would be Friedrich's downfall, he knew it the moment he set eyes on her. It was accidental. Neither meant to see it through so far. It started with her not only making sure that Clara was okay, but everyone. She went out of her way to check up on the household. She wasn't paid to deal with that. To deal with the adults. Yet, after a long day, when Friedrich returned home to see his wife already in bed and the baby put down, she would offer a drink.

That's all it was to begin with. Just a drink and a cigar.

Then it gradually became more. She would see to him in the morning and then in the evening as she was doing her round for the baby. She would sit in comfortable silence without the demand of attention, without the need for conversation to put the room at ease.

She was easy to talk to, she found his crude humour funny, she delighted in hearing about what he had been up to at work, what he had accomplished. But she also wanted to hear the bad things. The sales that didn't go right, the issues with reoccurring ships at the docks, the rounds of goods ships that made him want to tear his hair out.

She was beautiful. Inside and out. And it led Friedrich Harding to realise that he knew exactly what devotion could feel like. What he wanted to shower a woman with.

But with the wrong woman.

Things between Friedrich and her started not long after Clara had turned 1, just a tot. Anna didn't wish for intimacy, the trauma of childbirth had taken it's toll on her and frustration grew within both of them. She just needed time. She had birthed a gorgeous baby, she could take all the time she needed.

Is what he originally said.

Then it grew more common that she simply didn't want intimacy with him at all. Whether it was due to postpartum issues or not. She wanted none of it.

And in a moment of weakness, Friedrich found himself looking for her. Just for some semblance of love. The way that she would stare at little Clara with adoration... he wanted that adoration.

And thus he went searching for it. And he found it. Originally it was meant to be a one time thing, to let off steam for both. But that thrill didn't die down. In fact it drew both in further and further until they realised that neither one had any intentions of stopping what they were doing.

Even as Anna demanded another child, little Louise, that didn't stop Friedrich from chasing her. He was utterly addicted. Unfathomably addicted.

The candles in the house had started to melt down to the bases. The wind howled outside and the noise of the crackling fire in Friedrich's office drowned out the washing of rain that splattered onto the window.

The sound of the front door along with two murmured voices didn't disturb anyone. Friedrich quietly greeted the butler before handing his wet coat and hat before he marched towards the office, his clothes sopping wet.

When he opened the door he saw her. And his shoulders seemed to unwind slightly.

He glanced back outside the door before closing it behind him as he approached. "You know, it's rather rude to rummage through the belongings of your employer." He hummed, his voice low and teasing.