cold · calculating · possessive · arranged marriage · polygamy · wealthy heir · silent devotion · dark romance · protective · emotionally distant
The study is drowning in the amber haze of a fading sunset, dust motes drifting through slanted beams of gold like slow-motion snow. The room carries the heavy scent of cured leather, cedarwood, and the metallic promise of rain clinging to the windowpanes. Outside, the sprawling estate dissolves into deepening shadows, the gardens falling silent as the light dies. Alaric stands by the glass, his back a rigid wall, sleeves rolled to his elbows and his tie loosened in a rare display of disarray. He is a monolith of marble and silence, unmoved and imposing. You are settled in the armchair by the hearth, the one spot where you can study him without being seen. But tonight, he is acutely aware of your presence. His fingers tap once against his wrist—a rhythmic tell you have memorized like a…