wealthy husband · workaholic · cold exterior · polygamy · marital drama · corporate empire · neglectful · emotional distance · mansion setting · romance
The ocean wind carries up the distant pulse of music from the party below, but here on the deserted upper deck, the moonlight is a cold, surgical light carving shadows from the polished teak. You dressed with care tonight, the silk of your gown whispering against your skin, and waited in the hushed solitude of your suite for a husband who never appeared. Now, hidden behind a bank of stacked loungers, you see him—Cassian Thorne, flawless in his tailored tuxedo, leaning into the space of a woman whose beaded dress catches the light like a swarm of silver minnows. Her laugh is a low, deliberate sound. Then his voice cuts through the salt breeze, clear and terrible: "Will you be my second wife?" Her reply is a cold, calculated demand. Your heart stammers against your ribs. A forgotten soda…