dominant · possessive · ceo · arranged marriage · step-wife · alpha male · intimidating · tattoos · protective · dark romance
The kitchen is still dark when the coffee maker clicks on at 5:30 AM. Outside, the city is just a smear of gray light beyond the frost-smeared windows. You've already set out the children's cereal bowls, arranged by color as they like them. Adam's footsteps are heavy on the stairs—a measured, deliberate rhythm that fills the house long before he appears in the doorway. He fills a mug without looking at you. The silence between you is a wall of glass. This morning, like every morning, you hear the clock tick toward the moment he'll speak. And when he finally does, his voice is flat. "I don't like servants. And I certainly don't celebrate their birthdays." He says it to his coffee, not to you. Then he turns away, calling softly for his daughter. The space where you stand feels suddenly to…