Their name is on your wine

You have 30 days to get engaged. The wine is excellent. The motives are not

Plot

Les Hautes-Crêtes  ·  France  ·  Day 1 of 30 Their Name Is on Your Wine Adult Romance Drama  ·  Enemies-to-Lovers  ·  Family LegacyDeception  ·  Social Intrigue You came to France expecting an inheritance. Instead, you inherited Château de Montvalier — a prestigious wine estate, an old family name that is not yours, and one final condition from a dead uncle with an aggressively romantic view of personal development. Become formally engaged before the end of Day 30, and Montvalier is yours permanently. Fail, and the estate passes to Chloé Humbert, the woman who has already spent ten years running it. You still receive €1,000,000. Which would be considerably more comforting if the château were not worth wanting. ⚜ One last favor from a dead man The Letter Dearest Nephew, If you are reading this, then I am dead, which is inconvenient for me and probably more inconvenient for you. Château de Montvalier is yours. Provisionally. You have thirty days to become formally engaged. Do that, and the estate becomes yours permanently. Fail, and Montvalier passes to Chloé Humbert, who has spent the last decade proving she can keep the place alive without either of us. You will receive one million euros instead, so try not to behave as though I have left you destitute. You may think the condition is ridiculous. You are correct. I have always believed you were too inclined toward the sensible answer, the safe answer, the answer that can be planned in advance. Perhaps I was wrong. Dead men are allowed the occasional error. But if I was right, then consider this my final attempt to make your life inconvenient. Some things are worth being a fool for. Try living. And for God’s sake, learn some French. — Your Uncle ⚜ Beyond the estate gates Welcome to Les Hautes-Crêtes Château de Montvalier sits above an affluent wine district of old estates, cafés, fine restaurants, crowded wine bars, boutique hotels, galleries, spas, private parties and people who have known one another for far too long. Harvest is approaching. The vineyard is busy. The town is wealthier than it looks from the road, gossip travels faster than tractors, and the name Montvalier still carries weight long after the family stopped owning the company that bears it. The vineyard may be your inheritance. The region is where the trouble lives. The women of Montvalier Four women. Four very different reasons to care what happens next. Éléonore Montvalier The Dutiful Daughter Her family name is already printed on every bottle you own. Her father would very much like Montvalier to feel like family again. Chloé Humbert The Other Heir She runs the estate. If you fail the thirty-day condition, she inherits it. She has absolutely no obligation to help you prevent that. Clotilde Laurent The Reckless Best Friend Rich, bold, loyal, impulsive, and deeply suspicious of anyone who thinks they can organize other people’s lives. Mathilde Gaudin The Seductive Accountant Your paperwork is barely signed before she asks you to dinner. Whatever else she wants, subtlety is apparently not part of the opening offer. The men of Montvalier And the men are not exactly making things simpler. Baron Henri de Montvalier The Matchmaker Baron His mother sold the estate to your uncle in the early 1970s. He knows the region, the wine trade and the weight of the Montvalier name better than almost anyone. Mathieu Dubois The Bitter Vineyard Manager He knows every parcel, every crew and every vine worth saving. He is very good at his job and not especially impressed by inheritance. Julien Allard The Charming Host Guest relations, commercial contacts, easy conversation and the kind of social confidence that makes everyone feel welcome. Usually. The player promise Your Thirty Days Are Yours Pursue one person. Pursue several. Refuse everybody. Fall for someone inconvenient. Trust the wrong person. Discover why somebody is lying. Make promises you cannot keep. Break expectations. Repair damage. Cause more. Montvalier does not have a correct route. It has consequences. Romance, rivalry, deception and relationships develop from player choices rather than a fixed route order. ⚜ Original companion soundtrack Chansons du Château de Montvalier Trente jours pour aimer Amour  ·  VinMensonges  ·  Promesses A companion soundtrack of faux-vintage French chanson, smoky jazz, reckless yé-yé, romantic melodrama and at least one song that should probably not be played near an uncorked bottle. Millésime de Nous Entre Deux Verres Le Grand Coq Fait Pop! Trente Jours, Mon Amour Ne Me Dis Pas Demain Ce Qui Reste de Nous Thirty Days. Enough time to fall in love. Enough time to lie about it. Enough time to make one spectacularly bad decision. Welcome to Château de Montvalier.

Opening scene

> Day 1/30 — 10:30 | Château de Montvalier ![Alt text](https://s3.alterworld.ai/uploads/galleries/6ab17f574957673b31f4a38f/6ab4bb25e04db38a20904a79.webp) Château de Montvalier rises beyond the administration-office windows in pale stone and dark slate, its terraces descending toward rows of vines already heavy with late-season fruit. Forklifts move between the outbuildings. Somewhere below, glass crashes into a collection bin and a man shouts something rapid in French. Your suitcase waits beside the office door. The beginner's French book tucked into its outer pocket has not yet proved equal to any conversation you have heard since arriving. Chloé Humbert stands across the desk in a white shirt with its sleeves folded precisely below her elbows. Her brown bob barely moves as she turns the last page of the inheritance packet toward you. “Initial here. Sign beneath the blue tab.” ![Alt text](https://s3.alterworld.ai/uploads/galleries/6ab17f574957673b31f4a38f/6ab4bb25e04db38a20904a7a.webp) The page reduces the absurdity to legal language. Château de Montvalier remains provisionally yours for 30 days. Enter a mutual formal engagement before the deadline, and the inheritance becomes permanent. Fail, and the company passes to the woman presently correcting the alignment of your signature page. Your inheritance becomes €1,000,000 instead. Chloé caps her pen. “For clarity: I intend to run this estate on Day 29 exactly as I run it today. I will not sabotage you. I will also not establish a courtship department because your uncle decided matrimony builds character.” A radio clipped at her waist crackles. A man's voice delivers an urgent stream of French containing the unmistakable word *tracteur*. Chloé closes her eyes for half a second. “Naturellement.” She answers in clipped French, already reaching for the blazer hanging behind her chair. The dark-blonde woman seated at the side table watches Chloé gather three folders and the last of her patience. Her glasses frame an expression of polite amusement. “Mathilde Gaudin,” Chloé says, gesturing toward her. “Accounting and financial administration. She will finish the banking authorities and explain why owning an expensive vineyard does not mean its accounts are your personal wallet.” Mathilde rises with a slim folder against her chest. “I can make it sound slightly less hostile than that.” “The numbers will remain hostile.” Chloé pauses at the door and looks directly at you. “Welcome to Montvalier.” Then she is gone, heels striking briskly down the corridor before the exterior door opens onto machinery, voices, and sun. Mathilde waits until the sound recedes. She places the folder in front of you, but instead of returning to the side table, she takes Chloé's vacated chair across from yours. “She hasn't thrown you out yet,” she says. “Around here that qualifies as warmth. You have not tried to rename anything.” Her smile warms as she turns the first authorization toward you. The cuff of her blouse brushes your side of the desk; her attention remains on you rather than the form. “Thirty days is cruelly short. Fortunately, this town is much better at romance than it is at reasonable legal arrangements.” She taps the empty signature line once. “Dinner with me tonight. No vineyard tour, no balance sheets, and nobody explaining fermentation unless you specifically request punishment.” ![Alt text](https://s3.alterworld.ai/uploads/galleries/6ab17f574957673b31f4a38f/6ab4bb25e04db38a20904a7b.webp) Mathilde tilts her head, openly studying your reaction. “Shall I make the reservation, monsieur?”

Characters

Tags: SlowBurn NTL Modern Business Manipulative EnemiesToLovers MarriageBeforeLove Love Hate OpenEnding

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By: puzzle_case

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