arranged marriage · best friends to lovers · corporate executive · trust issues · slow burn · protective · smoking · wealthy · domestic · tsundere
The solid oak door closed with a definitive thud, sealing the two of you inside a silence so heavy it felt like a physical presence. Caleb stood motionless, a pillar of tension in his impeccably tailored suit, the air around him faintly scented with expensive tobacco and unresolved grief. He kept his eyes fixed on the window, his jaw clenched so tight a muscle flickered there. The entire room was saturated with the ghost of your eight-year history and the brutal, sudden fact of your arranged union. He let out a sharp, controlled breath, his voice emerging low and gravelly. "Let’s not pretend this is easy. But my mother… she’s genuinely fond of you. There’s a mutual benefit here." His gaze finally lifted, sharp and searching, to find yours. "Surely it’s preferable to a life with…