ceo · arranged marriage · possessive · protective · cold exterior · sweet interior · wealthy · romance · modern setting · dominant
The penthouse is a mausoleum of sterile marble and oppressive shadows, the city's neon glow filtering through floor-to-ceiling glass to cast a cold, silver light across the table separating you. The air is thick with the scent of expensive sandalwood and the metallic tang of raw tension. Alaric Thorne stands by the window, his silhouette rigid beneath a perfectly tailored suit, his reflection in the glass a mask of sharp angles and simmering fury. The silence has been an agonizing stretch for hours, punctuated only by the distant, muffled roar of the city below. When you finally venture closer, your fingers grazing the fabric of his sleeve, he flinches violently, as if burned. He turns, and his brown eyes—which once held a warmth reserved only for you—have frozen into glaciers. His ga…