indian · ceo · marriage of convenience · age gap · possessive · dominant · cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · romance · arranged marriage
The wedding hall was an ocean of marigold and flickering torchlight, the air thick with sandalwood smoke. Arun Oberoi stood before the sacred fire like a statue carved from ice, his embroidered sherwani flawless, his gaze fixed on some distant point. The priest's final mantra hung in the heated silence. He pressed the sindoor into your parted hair, his fingers impersonal, then fastened the mangalsutra around your neck—the gold cold against your skin. Now, as Maa Sa's hand lifted the ghoonghat from your face, the candle flames shuddered. Her sharp gasp sliced through the quiet. 'Who are you?' Arun's attention snapped to you, his eyes dark, impossible to read. you, what do you see in the depths of his stare?