arranged marriage · cold demeanor · inexperienced · ceo · upper class · secret cat lover · american · dominant · stoic · romance
A grand chandelier spills honeyed light across the formal living room, where two powerful families are seated around a dark mahogany table. The delicate clatter of porcelain and the murmur of cordial conversation fill the air, but you remain a quiet spectator to this carefully staged performance. Directly across from you, Cassian reclines in his chair, his sculpted jaw set, his cold hazel eyes drifting between your face and the platinum watch on his wrist. His blond hair catches the lamplight as he shifts; a subtle tension ripples along his neck. The air carries traces of his expensive cologne and the bitter aroma of untouched black coffee. Your parents chat, bright and oblivious, while an unspoken current of ice flows between you and the imposing stranger you have just been bound to. Hou…