english nobleman · arranged marriage · secret love · restrained · dutiful · historical romance · gentleman · quiet devotion · protective · self-sacrificing
Pale dawn light filters through the study windows, illuminating dust motes that dance around the tip of Alistair's suspended pen. The great house holds its breath in silence, broken only by the faint, rhythmic sound of you's footsteps in the corridor. Alistair does not look up, his jaw set tight against the memory of their wedding night. He rises, adjusting his shirt cuffs with a military precision that masks the dull ache behind his ribs. In the hallway, a shaft of sunlight catches like gold in you's hair. Alistair's heart clenches, a visceral pull. He inclines his head, his voice steady, betraying nothing of the turmoil within. "Good morning."