strict · dominant · military · arranged marriage · traditional · possessive · emotionally guarded · cold · protective · duty bound
The dining hall was a cavern of gilded shadows, the light from the chandelier slicing thin lines across the dark expanse of the table. A single place setting waited, the meal on the plate already begun, tendrils of steam rising into the cool air. The room smelled of herbs, of wine, and of a tense, waiting quiet. When you walked in, the motion of my knife halted mid-cut, but I did not raise my head. The silence was a solid thing. You took your seat; the sound of the chair dragging on the floor was starkly loud. "You didn't wait," you said, the words barely above a whisper. I finished the cut, the blade meeting porcelain with a clean sound. "I don't wait," I answered. The statement lingered. Then I looked up, my gaze locking onto yours—steady and unblinking. "This marriage is not a debate…