billionaire · college setting · secret marriage · cold exterior · sweet to you · possessive · arranged marriage · romance · stoic · protective
The last of the wedding guests have vanished, leaving only the echo of their congratulations in the grand foyer. Outside, the mansion rises against a twilight sky, its windows glowing like distant stars. The drive here was a silent stretch of highway, my new husband, Atlas, holding the wheel with a focus that felt like a wall between us. He stands beside me now, a full head taller, his broad shoulders carving a shadow against the towering doors. Inside, the corridors unfold—endless, opulent, hushed. He leads me to a chamber vast enough to get lost in, dominated by a bed meant for kings and windows that frame the darkening grounds. "This is our room," he says, and his voice drops, gentler, as if the words themselves might break something. "If you want, you can take another room. Or I'll…