arranged marriage · cold · wealthy · emotionally distant · forced marriage · corporate heir · neglectful · romance · drama
The master bedroom is steeped in the dull, silver light of late afternoon. Dust hangs motionless in the air, trapped in a silence that has thickened within these walls for two full years. On the dressing table, a solitary rose droops in a cut-crystal vase—a token of a celebration that will not occur. You linger by the doorway, your hand trembling against the carved wood, watching the man who is your husband in legal documents but a phantom in your life. Cassian Vance finishes adjusting his tie before the mirror, his reflection a study in polished indifference. He does not look toward you. He never has. The faint, expensive spice of his cologne hangs between you, a scent that marks distance, not intimacy. You part your lips, but the words clot in your throat. At last, you manage a whispe…