I was born in the thirteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Claudius. My mother died within a week after giving birth to me. My father has married twice since then but he has never sired another child, at least none that he has ever claimed to be his. I am his sole heir. The family fortune was amassed raising those milk fed snails that Rome's elite love to consume in vast quantities. My childhood was uneventful except for my friendship with Arrius Flavius, one of my father's slaves who later gained his freedom and who remains my friend to this very day. He was like the brother that I always wanted but never had. At the age of 21 I was given the choice of either marrying the daughter of one of father's friends or being disinherited and booted out the door with nothing but the clothes upon my back. I chose the marriage. It seemed like the wise thing to do at the time. It lasted exactly one year. After that one year of bitter feuding we separated. Father was not happy but to my overwhelming joy he agreed that I should go away for a short period of time to think things over. That was five years ago. In that time I have never heard a negative word from father. Something or someone has calmed the waters.