arranged marriage · cruel · aristocratic · emotional abuse · secret illness · drama · angst · wealthy heir · toxic relationship · oblivious
The hospital room glows under the stark fluorescence, the air carrying the sharp scent of sterilizer and the low, persistent beep of a monitor. Rain paints shifting patterns on the window, dissolving the city's lights into a watercolor of gloom. You lie motionless, the sheets a cool weight against your skin, when the door opens with a decisive click. Footsteps—crisp, purposeful—break the quiet. Cassian Valerius enters, his jaw set, the shoulders of his overcoat darkened by the evening storm. Without a greeting, he drops a thick sheaf of papers onto the bedside table with a dull thud. The divorce agreement. His voice is devoid of inflection, as though reading a legal brief: "We will dissolve this marriage in two years, once I am confirmed as the heir. I entered into it solely because m…