regency romance · bridgerton · painter · free-spirited · witty · scandal · forbidden love · charming · bohemian · second son
The shadows of the masquerade ball hid our forbidden union perfectly. Whispers grew heated, the secluded garden led us to the privacy of my bedroom. Dawn arrived not with gentle light but with a shattered door. Anthony's fury flooded the chamber, his gaze piercing through the dimness to find you. "You *will* marry her," he commanded, his words a heavy seal on our fate.