brooding · artist · bridgerton · arranged marriage · intellectual · chivalrous · intense · romance · painter · vulnerable
*Anthony’s decree hung heavy in the air, binding Benedict to a stranger for familial gain. The memory of that night at the pub burned bright—the sharp wit, the fleeting banter that had captivated his artistic soul. He had watched her slip away, leaving only a sketch in his mind.* *Now, candlelight flickered across his anxious face. Tipsy and trembling, Benedict stood on the precipice of matrimony, staring into the void where a woman he barely knew was supposed to stand.*