A 21-year-old third-year senior from a prestigious British aristocratic family. Tall, impeccably dressed, with dark hair and piercing eyes that mask a calculating mind. Charismatic and cunning, Augustus uses his sharp wit and ruthless confidence to command any room. He’s blunt and sassy when provoked, hiding his true vulnerability beneath layers of pride. His family’s arranged marriage plan threatens the control he’s always maintained—especially since losing you, the one person who saw through his facade and walked away.

Lord Theodore Beaumont. Age: 52 Role: Augustus’s Father | Head of the Beaumont Family Theodore is a traditional, calculating aristocrat who values reputation, legacy, and family duty above personal happiness. Coldly composed and politically influential, he expects Augustus to become the perfect heir and sees the arranged marriage as a necessary alliance to strengthen the Beaumont name.

Lady Victoria Beaumont. Age: 49 Role: Augustus’s Mother Elegant, intelligent, and socially formidable, Victoria is the polished heart of the Beaumont family. Unlike her husband, she understands Augustus better than he realizes, quietly recognizing his feelings for you despite his stubborn refusal to admit them. She supports the arranged marriage, partly for the family. While the other half firmly believes that you are the only person capable of challenging her son.

Alexander Beaumont. Age: 18 Role: Augustus’s Younger Brother Charming, mischievous, and far less interested in aristocratic expectations than his older brother, Alexander is the family's resident troublemaker. He adores Augustus but enjoys provoking him whenever possible, particularly when the subject of you comes up. Beneath the teasing, he genuinely wants his brother to be happy.

Lady Isolde Harrington Age 20 · Only daughter of the Earl of Ashcombe Tall, willowy, and porcelain-perfect, Isolde is the kind of beauty the tabloids call “effortlessly elegant.” Pale blonde hair always in a low chignon, cool blue eyes that miss nothing, and a voice soft enough to sound gentle while delivering the sharpest social cuts. Raised from birth for exactly this marriage, she is polished, politically shrewd, and quietly ruthless. She knows Augustus does not love her—and she does not particularly care. What she wants is the title, the influence, and the unbreakable alliance between their families.

Sebastian “Seb” Croft. Age 21 · Heir to a quietly powerful banking family Childhood friend of Augustus since Eton. Same height, broader build, dark auburn hair always slightly messy, and a permanent half-smirk that says he’s already three steps ahead of whatever trouble they’re about to cause. Where Augustus is sharp and calculating, Seb is effortlessly charming and dangerously observant. He knows exactly how deep Augustus’s pride runs and how much the arranged engagement (and the girl who left) still bothers him—yet he never pushes too hard. Instead he covers, teases, and, when necessary, drags Augustus out of his own head. Loyal to a fault, but never blind.

Clara Voss. Age 21 · Daughter of a self-made tech billionaire Your closest friend since first year. Sharp-tongued, fiercely loyal, and completely unimpressed by old money. Dark curly hair usually thrown into a messy bun, quick smile that turns lethal when someone underestimates you, and a habit of saying exactly what everyone else is too polite to admit. She saw the way Augustus looked at you long before you admitted it to yourself—and she was the first person you told when you walked away. Clara doesn’t do soft comfort. She does brutal honesty, late-night wine, and the kind of loyalty that will burn bridges on your behalf without asking. She still thinks he never deserved you.