Matthew Winter

Details

Matthew is a tall and broad man. He has a towering posture that demands respect from the people around him. he is quite an imposing man and some could even say 'freak of nature' (thx Renske) but he would prefer just the term tall king. He has a lot of pride and wears himself with certain grace wherever he goes. He certaintly has this royal feel about him. When Matthew enters a room, you can not only spot him from across the room, but just feel his presence being there. He is intimidating and knows it. Not only because he is just generally big, but also how he is in general. He can be quite scary to be around. He just has that air about him, which is hard to place, but always there. He is the type of man that makes heads turn and makes people talk. And man, he loves it. Every second of it.
He has a beautifully shapen face that has been decorated with a well kept beard. He has jetblack hair, but seems to be greying in some areas. It is quite notable that he isn't greying as fast as his brothers, so he certaintly got the good genes there. He keeps his hair short and always makes sure that it looks good. He has hazel colored eyes, which seems to be a deep mix of lightbrown and green. He has a lightly toned skin from all his travels and age. Has several scars on his back and one big one over his right shoulder. Some sort of scarring can be seen on his chest, but this doesn't seem like an ordinary scar.

Matthew is usually seen wearing suits and other formal business attires. He is always dressed to play the role perfectly. And for him, the role is usually pretty uptight. So therefore, luxury is always in the picture. He has an expensive taste and does not spare a cent on whatever he likes. For him, appearance is everything.

Matthew is a spoiled asshole. Ever since he was born he had been spoiled. Being treated by everyone as a lord from young age has tainted his frail ego quite a lot. He is arrogant and thinks he's hot stuff. He plays the role quite well and has developed a charismatic personality out of it. He knows how to sell himself to people around him due to his experience. he isn't awkward at all and has little shame. He has little empathy for people. The only real people he cares/cared about were his first wife and his first daughter, Maybel. Beside them he feels little to no real feelings to anyone. This can make him a bit dangerous, as he just doesn't care what his actions can do to people. He is brutally honest and will say what's on his mind if he so pleases. However, he can also be quite the liar when he finds it convenient. Because, at the end of the day there's only really two people he has to look out and that's himself and his daughter. So he doesn't really care what his words could do to others.

He is sarcastic, playful and can't take people of lower class seriously. He thinks of them as just lowly peasants and thinks it's cute when they try something. Although he is still somewhat okay with middle class, all 'respect', or whatever it is he has, will be gone when hitting anything below that. Matthew finds it enjoyable to make people feel small and gets joy out of feeling in power, so it isn't that weird that he thinks like that. It could be viewed like a bit twisted when actually putting it down on paper. And yea, you're right, it is. But at the end of the day Matthew never really cared about the little man. He thinks they are cute, he thinks its endearing to see them. But actually feeling bad for poverty and such? No, he could never. That kind of sympathy is not something he is capable of.

In high company is the man such a joy to be around, as he is quite chatty and always seems to be able to keep a conversation going. He knows how to convert his twisted attitude into something that is just enjoyable to be around. He can come across as so kind and helpful, offering up deals and charities every now and then to people that just seem to be taking off. It has given him a reputation as a giving man. Ofcourse, these people were already of high standing, so in a way it isn't that weird. In general Matthew has this view on the world, that money is everything. It is ruled by coin and its economy and at the end of the day status and gain was all that mattered. Time is money and everything has a price, those were the wisest lessons he could ever offer to himself.

Besides all that Matthew actually does care a lot of what others think about him. Therefore he finds it very important that his upper class reputation is flawless. This has resulted in him being extremely hard working, even more so then what has been requested of him. He pursued the career of an entrepreneur in his quest of building something on top of his roots. Not only making his family proud, but also strengthening the Winters name. He gets his pride from his bloodline and his work, that much is for sure. Due to this fact he will shut down anyone that tries to spill any shade on him regarding family matters. Family is quite important for Matthew and therefore also having a wife. He has this picture in his head of the perfect little, hot, family that he wants and so desperately chases after. It's something that he wants for himself and for his daughter, so that they could both enjoy the picture perfect life that he wants.

Deep, deep down, below all the dirty and the messed up, was once a very gentle man. He had an ego, that was for sure, but he had this dream. The dream of a family and the dream to make his family proud. So he did with gentle hands and a soft demeaner and he failed. So after losing his heart to a dream long gone, he just started to shrivel up. Getting older and older it slowly became a part of him. Those gentle hands were still part of him, right? Right.

Matthew has a lot of patience. If anything he is usually the one that pisses off the other. However, whenever he does get angry, a switch seems to go off. He becomes serious, scarily serious. He will not use violence, but other measures to get his emotions across. Anger really shows another side of him. As the mask finally seems to fade into whatever he is now, a cold man with little emotions and pure calculations. Because that is what he is. He is smart and all his actions are done with great precision. He knows what he is doing and with what people he has to do what with. All of that fades, however, when he is at the end of his patience.

Matthew was born on the first day of the wolf moon. Healthy and strong. Those were the two words the doctors used to describe him. There were never any complications growing up and he showed great progress in a lot of things. Learning the basic things such as speaking, walking, running... Reading and writing from a young. It didn't take long for the young lord to also enrol in other activities. All of these were a breeze, however, and Matthew never really struggled with any work that was given to him. He wasn't a rebellious kid, always obeying his parents in whatever they wanted from him. He always nodded, saying yes daddy, yes mommy and pleasing them. Yea, Matt really was that kind of kid that would always do that extra so he could be more in favour with his parents. Because, well, he was of course a little jealous of his older brother. It had become clear quite early that he was more important than him. And that was just simply something Matthew never really knew how to deal with. He loved being the center of attention. Whenever he could show off, he did. But it quickly became clear that showing off his good things wasn't doing anything. Did it bother him? Not that much, he just looked for it somewhere else.

And he surely got his attention somewhere else. Outside of the Winter family he was seen as something precious and great. He made friends quite easily because of his status, but also because he always seemed to know what to say to people. A social butterfly, that much was for sure. And for a great portion of his life, Matthew enjoyed it. But it just never felt as enough. As if he wasn't good enough, always being in the shadow of his brother. This caused him to start acting a bit out of line. He started to go out more, go to parties and do things that were just unbecoming of someone of his stature. He fucked around, did stupid shit... BUt hey, he was just a teen, what did he know. It was just for fun, so why the hell not?

Well his parents made it clear quite quickly why not. He was lectured, maybe for the first time in his life, and it shocked him quite a bit. For the first time he wasn't really sure where this kind of negative feedback came from. His parents were well respected people in his life, so their opinion and words meant a lot for him. So, as any good son would do... He just continued doing what he was doing, but now just more undercover. Going out at night, sleeping around, drinking, partying. he was young and he wanted to live. And even though he understood his parents, he still wanted something out of his life. He enjoyed the night life and the people, so why not? He only lived once, so why not enjoy it to its fullest.

When he had just turned 18 he went out once again with some friends. Fucking around and doing stuff that young adults shouldn't be doing. However, this time, he came across a young maiden. Her name was Cecelia and he was honestly star struck by her beauty and grace. People could quickly tell that it was love at first sight and they actually shared their first kiss as well on that first night. Matthew still thinks back fondly to that night, as the kiss had been an accident. But he still believes it was his luckiest accident ever. And maybe he was right, because it started something in the both of them.

It was quite a surprise when they saw each other the next day at a dinner with their families. The entire dinner Matthew would just talk to her, making her smile and giggle. Sharing stories of places he had been and things he had done, but also giving her the space to also talk about herself. And she did. She commented on how she loved flowers and had been all over Ashmoor to research them. She had quickly added to the matter that she only really wanted to pursue flowers as a hobby, but Matthew could see that she had a passion for it. After the dinner, Matthew went out of his way to order the most expensive plants and flowers he could get his hands on. The whole operation was quite a handful, but thanks to his social skills and status it went quite smoothly. He quite enjoyed the process of figuring everything out and establishing something risky... And perhaps this little passion project was just the spark to what he would eventually become.

After a few weeks, Matthew showed up at Dawnmire with some of the rarest plants that could be found in Ashmoor. He went on his knee and confessed his feelings to Cecilia after gifting her the flowers. She quickly shared her feelings with him as well... And after a few weeks they decided to get engaged.

Matthew was happy, very happy actually. The day of his marriage was the most magical one he had ever experienced. Everything was perfect because she was just so perfect. They had fallen in love even more, becoming the talk of town as their love was so pure and right. The prime example of what a couple should be really in Ashmoor. Their marriage would also mean an even closer connection with the Grimaldi's, but Matthew honestly didn't care much about that. She was his and he was hers. And that was all that mattered. They were happy. A true happy ending to something perfect. Even Matthew found something outside of his family that he started to pursue. Finally establishing more and more things, such as stores and projects and becoming a sort of investor in things. He quickly started to show progress in whatever he was doing and this quickly showed in not only his own success, but also that of the people he sponsored. Although he started to own more and more things, it also offered opportunities for people to do things they wanted to do. And with the financial and social help of Matthew, that was possible.

Everything was perfect. Everything beside the fact that they just... Couldn't get children. They had gotten married quite early in life and perhaps that was the reason, but Matthew didn't really understand what the issue was. They had been married for 5 years, 6 years... 7 years. But still nothing. It slowly began to frustrate him, but he wouldn't let that get in the way of his perfect ending. He started to focus more on work, started to become more absent from home. Started to become a bit too close to some women. But hey. Those were all rumours and nothing was confirmed. So in his book, nothing had happened. It was just business as usual. Getting connections, being among people and generally just having a good time. He was a hard working husband, even though there was no real need for him to be this hard working. They already had wealth, but that wasn't really the point anymore for him. He just wanted more.

When Cecilia fell ill, he actually didn't notice right away. It had only become apparent after a few months. He was rarely at home and when he was the lady of the house would always do her best to please her husband, being presented on her best at any time. But when her illness got worse, she couldn't hide it anymore. Matthew didn't know what to do with this information and was quite shocked by it, but as the overprotective hubby that he was he ordered the best doctors to come from all over Ashmoor. They came, they saw and they told him there was little they could do about her condition. At the question of mortality, a lot of doctors didn't even dare to give her a set amount of time. It angered him so much, as he simply couldn't understand what he could do to help her. He tried everything, hired several people to try and find a cure, but nothing worked. It pissed him off so much, because he was certain something could be done about it. Someone could help them. It was just a question of where to find this person.

But... That help never came. Even though the lady was still young she started to show signs of deterioration fast. Matthew was lost, desperate even on what was happening to his beloved wife. So he did something that he had never done before. He ventured beyond the border of Ashmoor in search of a cure. Undercover, of course, but with little success. The people of Odiria were different to the ones from Ashmoor and even though he did learn some vital information on his travels, no cure was ever found. When he returned after a few months, he came home to the message that his wife had passed away, but not before giving birth to their first and only daughter. She had only passed that morning, a couple of days after the birth of their child, and even though she was weak she gifted the little girl with a name; Maybel Madeline Winter.

Matthew was heartbroken, hating himself for even leaving when she was in such a bad state. He had thought that if he went on his own he would be able to get the job done. Because he always got the job done. But this time... It didn't work out. And he blamed himself. He had failed the one and only person he cared so much about. For what? For a journey that had given him nothing. He went into mourning, but still organized her funeral. She was buried at her hometown; Dawnmire and Matthew remained in the city with his daughter for up to two years, before finally travelling back to Alderrath.

After his mourning period Matthew came back as a changed man. He seemed, colder, more distant, but also more harsh and outgoing. As if his personality was both turned up to 200% but also scalled down at the same time. He went right back into business and threw himself into his work, but also spending a lot of time with his precious daughter. Matthew gave everything to his little Maybel and he spoiled her as much as possible. She simply had to look at something and he would get it for her. She was his everything, the legacy of his Cecilia, and the only person in the world he cared about. Matthew was extremely protective of his daughter, however, and would only accept the best for her. So, that's all she got. Sure, he sheltered her, he even made sure that she was guarded at all times. And that didn't change with time. Maybel was allowed to do anything she wanted, but only if she had a guard with her. If she didn't want to do something, then she wouldn't need to do that. So, Matthew never pressured her into studying anything specific or do anything for that matter. She was 'free' to do anything she wanted, as long as it fell within his vision of what was 'safe'.

When Maybel turned 4 he felt like something was missing from their lifes. And he quickly realized what that was. Even though he had a lot of nanny's and guards that attended to Maybel, she did not have a mother. So Matthew chose a new partner, a woman named Rina Baux. They got married shortly after meeting eachother for the first time. Matthew had expected Rina to immediately look after his daughter as her own, but she didn't. The woman was distant from her and would only cling onto him. He didn't mind, since he did love the attention, but this wasn't what he had in mind when he envisioned this. The first year after their marriage went... Ok, to say the least. Rin mostly clung onto him, desperately trying to get something out of him. Matthew knew that it was children, since she would always talk about how she wanted to have a family of four. It was quite odd though that she didn't seem to care about the child that was already there. Only two months after they got married he managed to get her pregnant. The pregnancy went smoothly and she gave birth to a son which was named Luca.

It didn't take long after their first year together that things started to go downhill. Rina started to boss him around, demanding that he was home more often. They would constantly fight over his work and even started to escalate into fights over less trivial things. He didn't bring her flowers even though she felt a bit sick? She would throw a fit. He didn't come home before midnight? She would throw a fit. She didn't like what Maybel was wearing? She would throw a fit. At everything Rina would make snarky comments and act out. Matthew, however, always remained calm. For his sake and that of his daughter.

Things took a turn for the worst when Rina, in one of her fits, threatened to actually hurt Maybel. That was the last straw that ended in him actually hitting her. He had never hit someone before, let alone a woman, but he saw red as soon as this lady, that he did not care about, started to talk like this about his princess. She started to calm down after this, kept to herself and would rarely even speak to Matthew anymore. He was fine with this, since he didn't feel sorry at all about what he did. He had to put her in place, so he did. And he was honestly quite satisfied with the results. From that point on Rina mostly spent time with their son and her own family, while Matthew spent most of his time with Maybel and work.

And so the years went on and on. They didn't even sleep together anymore, as she claimed to be scared of him. He didn't mind, since he started to get more satisfaction from other places. Women from all around could only wish to sleep with a man like him and he always delivered. But hey, those were only stories, rumours that would be denied all the time. He was, after all, a rich and influential person. He had built his own business from the ground up and was known as the go to for financial success and advice. Dirt on his name was only seen as ways of belittling him. But it never worked, Matthews ego was just too big for that.

And after 8 years of nothing, Rina suddenly invited him over for tea. He was quite surprised to say the least, but accepted her invitation nonetheless. She was nice, gentle even and acted like she used to when they had just gotten married. Being all flirty and all with him. But it felt odd and off... And when he finally smelled the strong smell of cinnamon in his tea, he knew what she was trying to do. He could feel his blood boiling right away, but restrained from hurting her as he excused himself, only to never return to that room.

It was only a couple of days. But with that much blood and ravage people were sure that the lady must have died. Thieves is what the guards claimed when informing Matthew. The only person in the house at the time was his son, Luca. But that was still a kid, so he couldn't have known what was going on, in any case were his words disregarded by Matthew as he simply stated that she must have died. A body was never found, not outside the house or anywhere in Ashmoor. She was gone, for good. And Matthew was never phased by it. If there was one person in the world that he hated more than anything, it was her. But he was a free man once more. Just he, his daughter... And her son.

Matthew treated Luca very poorly and would rarely interact with him. He hired nanny's and all the sorts to raise him. He would sometimes come over to tell him what he expected of the boy and... That was all. Only the best was to be expected from Luca. But that wasn't very different from when Rina was still around. She had raised the boy in ways that most winters were raised. With lots of classes, training and general stuff. He was forced to learn lots of things and even perfect himself in a subject. Not that Matthew cared what it was. He didn't care for the boy, since he never even wanted to have kids with his second wife. Luca was simply a means of giving Maybel more freedom as he could carry the duties of a winter that she did not care for.

Maybel turned out to be a beautiful woman and Matthew couldn't be more proud of her. Still spoiling her with all his attention and money, she was still his everything. He was so proud to see how she was turning out so much like her mother. In contrast like his son, who was taking more after him. It made him push Luca away even more. Although on the outside and public they were seen as just a family where they were treated equally, it was clear on the inside who the favourite was. And Matthew would never deny it. Because why should he? He had never acted like a father towards his son. They were only related to blood and name, that was all.

But as the fucker he was it just wasn't enough. He quickly set his eyes on a new woman. She was stunning and of high standing as well. But Renestrae would only allow them to be something with marriage. So without hesitation he started to work out things. Her father, Mr Hyon, was more than pleased to hear the news and agreed. A new wife, a trophy wife. How fun.

- Matthew likes to 'sponsor' people with their little projects.
- Matthew knows a lot about plants, flowers and chemicals.
- Favorite color is red.
- Obsessed with bringing back his first wife, his one and only true love.
- Doesn't actually believe in any gods but pretends just cause you know, for the fam.
- Matthew hates getting dirty and actually loves to clean.
- Matthew owns a lot of stores and other stuff in Alderrath.
- He is extremely wealthy, filthy rich kinda vibes, and spends most of his money on his daughter, Maybel.
- Matthew loves flowers since it reminds him of his first wife and sweetheart. His favourite is the lily of the valley. He always has some in his room.
- Cecilia's favorite flower is the camellia. Matthews garden is filled with bushes of this flower and once a year he picks out the most beautiful ones to bring to Cecilia's grave. He also leaves on singular red rose with the rest of the flowers. (A single red rose signifies first love; for long time partners it is a way of saying 'you are still the one')
- Matthew knows a lot about anatomy as he was studying to become a doctor before finding his passion as an entrepreneur.
- Matthew has a crazy stable hand, he would have made a fine surgeon.
- Matthew loves swimming, most likely his favourite activity. He used to love taking his dates out for skinny dipping.
- Matthew has his own winery in Dawnmire that he established 20 years ago.