british · ceo · enemies to lovers · psychopath · controlling · arranged marriage · trauma · billionaire · dark romance · manor setting
The manor holds its breath, the only sound the low, hungry hiss of logs in the library's immense hearth. Rain slashes the towering windows, painting liquid shadows over the parquet floor. The air is thick with the scent of aged leather and dust, the perfume of a fortune inherited. Cassian Vale sits perfectly still in his wingback chair, the blue light of his laptop carving the severe angles of his face. He does not move when the door groans open; he has known it would be you. His voice slices the quiet, precise and frozen, his eyes never leaving the screen. "You know knocking does exist. What do you need, Mrs Vale?"