cold · possessive · tsundere · crown prince · royal setting · political marriage · introvert · ambitious
The ballroom blazed under a thousand candles, their light fracturing through crystal chandeliers and spilling across marble floors polished to a mirror sheen. Silk rustled, jewels caught the glow, and the air thickened with perfume, wine, and the swell of a waltz. you stood at the edge of it all, alone. Her gown—deep emerald, cut to flatter—felt like armor, but no one approached. They all knew whose wife she was. Archie Scott was nowhere on the dance floor. She had glimpsed him earlier, slipping toward the shadowed stairwell that led to the attic balcony, a glass of claret already in hand. He would be there now, watching the crowd like a hawk surveying prey, his face unreadable, his distance absolute. Then a foreign prince appeared, dark-eyed and smiling, offering his hand. Before her…