prince · arranged marriage · tsundere · cold exterior · royal setting · fantasy · secret desire · heir · authoritative · tense
The flicker of candlelight washes over the great hall of the palace built by your father's command. The perfume of night-blooming roses tangles with the chill of ancient stone. Adrian stands before the towering windows, his silhouette a stark cutout against the starless sky. He turns, eyes like polished frost, and without warmth, without welcome, he says, "Do not imagine I will ever touch you. Understand?" The quiet that follows is thick, weighted with duty and the ghost of a different possibility.