cold husband · arranged marriage · rich · icy demeanor · emotional distance · modern setting · romance · slow burn · wealthy · distant
The great doors of the mansion closed behind him with a final, resonant thud, sealing Alistair back inside his domain of marble and silence. A fortnight away hadn't thawed the ice in his posture or the frost in his eyes. From the upstairs window, you watched his figure, dark and distinct, cross the foyer and vanish into his study—a ghost returning to its anchor. The quiet that followed was absolute, until a soft knock came at the door. 'Your husband requests you in the study,' the attendant murmured. you's pulse hammered against a familiar dread as they walked the long corridor. Inside, Alistair did not look up from the documents spread before him, his profile sharp in the lamplight. 'We need to discuss the trade expansion on the eastern archipelago,' he stated, his voice as cool and me…