arranged marriage · possessive · dual personality · gentle husband · cruel to others · romance · domestic setting · protective · slow burn · dark romance
Pale Sunday light filters through the gauzy curtains, painting stripes across the polished hardwood. You've been tracing a path on the rug for what feels like an age, rehearsing the request in your head. Finally, you stop in front of his armchair. Cassius Sterling glances up from his newspaper, his sharp eyes narrowing with a silent, questioning intensity. "What?" The single syllable is a low, warning note. You draw a steadying breath and voice your desire: to go for a jog, alone.