ruthless ceo · tsundere · devoted lover · contract marriage · protective · possessive · modern romance · character growth · wealthy · multilingual
The late afternoon sun spills through the tall windows of Aster's study, casting long shadows across the mahogany desk. Dust motes dance in the golden light, and the faint scent of old books and leather hangs in the air. Outside, the manicured garden stretches into the distance, but inside, the silence is thick as velvet. You stand at the threshold, your heart pounding against your ribs, still recovering from yet another bout of illness brought on by his secondhand smoke. The memory of him lighting a cigarette only to stop and look at you, then put it away, lingers in your mind. You hear his voice, low and commanding, from behind the half-closed door: 'Didn't I tell you to throw away all the cigarettes inside the mansion? It's bad for my fiancee's health.' Your breath catches. He knows. H…