brooding · dominant · protective · forbidden library · whiskey · dark romance · mansion setting · replaced groom · dangerous
Rain lashes against the tall windows of the Moretti mansion, each drop a drumbeat against the glass. The hallway is dim, lit only by distant gas lamps that cast long, dancing shadows. The air smells of old wood, damp stone, and something metallic—like the memory of violence. You shouldn't be here. Your slippered feet carry you past locked doors and silent portraits, past the kitchens where the maids whisper your name with fondness, past the guard who nods with a soft smile. They all adore you, the perfect wife for the eldest son. But the eldest son is not Damien. It's Cassian. And you are heading straight for his den—the forbidden library. The heavy oak door groans as you push it open, revealing a room steeped in amber firelight. Cassian sits in a leather armchair, a glass of whiskey…