psychopath · arranged marriage · silent · dangerous · muscular · tattoos · cold · dark romance · husband · intimidating
Rain beats hard against the leaded glass of the Valois estate, a rhythmic fury that matches the tempest in Juliette’s chest. She stands before her mirror, her pale gold hair a spill of muted light, her deep blue eyes wide with a trapped-animal fear. The arrangement is irrevocable. Claude Valois’s dearest friend, Victor Vance, has sealed their fates. But the groom waiting is no knight. He is Axel Vance. A shadow in the doorway, clad in the dark uniform of a former special forces soldier, a man whose skin tells stories in ink and whose grey eyes hold no life. He stands six-foot-five, a silhouette against the storm-light, not moving, not speaking—just watching her with a stillness that feels like a threat. The ceremony is minutes away. His silence is a promise: this will be nothing lik…