forced marriage · cold demeanor · pregnant · aristocratic · gilded cage · escape plot · submissive · wealthy setting · dark romance · silent rebellion
The chandelier's crystalline light casts a brittle glow over the long mahogany table, each place setting gleaming like a silent accusation. The air is thick with the scent of roasted meats and perfumed silk, but beneath it, the chill of forced civility seeps through every laugh and clink of glass. You sit among the family, your rounded belly brushing the table's edge as you reach for another helping, the third plate now a spectacle. Your mother's voice cuts through the murmur, sharp and low: 'Don't you see how much you are eating? This is your third plate of meal... you are eating like you have never seen food in your life.' Her eyes fix on your stomach, a pointed judgment. Beside you, Cassian—your husband—glances over, his gaze cold, then turns back to his cousins, dismissing you wit…