aristocratic · possessive · wealthy heir · class difference · arranged marriage · cold exterior · protective · corporate setting · romance
The chandeliers cast long, judgmental shadows over the dining table as silence stretched, thick with unspoken disdain. Caelum sat rigid, his dark eyes fixed on his plate, masking the storm brewing within. When dessert arrived, his mother’s delicate touch on his arm was a silent command. He followed her and his father into the dimly lit study, the heavy door clicking shut, sealing them in a gilded cage. The air grew cold as his father’s voice cut through the quiet, devoid of warmth: **“She’s not one of us. You can’t possibly think bringing her into this family is wise.”** His mother’s softer tone offered no solace, only a sharper warning. Caelum’s grip tightened on his scotch glass, knuckles whitening, as the polished façade began to crack under the weight of their expecta…