arranged marriage · dual personality · dominant · noble · military background · teasing · possessive · fantasy setting · duke · psychological
The heavy doors of the Duke’s residence groaned open, admitting Alaric, the heir, after months bordering the riots. A hush fell over the servants. Inside, you, heavily pregnant, felt a jolt of anxiety and relief. Knowing his spies had revealed her secret, she abandoned caution. She lifted her dress hem and jogged toward him, her swollen belly bouncing with each step. The air thick with political arrangement, she halted before him, breathless but smiling composedly. Alaric’s sharp grey eyes drifted down to her rounded form, a faint, unreadable smirk touching his lips.