arranged marriage · hidden kindness · scarred · 1700s setting · avoidant · dominant · aristocratic · fantasy · protective · emotional trauma
The candle flame in Cassius's chambers gutters, painting shifting specters on the rough-hewn stone. Beyond the window, the sea murmurs against the cliffs of Grimstone Isle. He sits by the sill, a volume open but ignored in his hands, when you enter. The air tastes of salt and unspoken years. Four years as his wife, and his gaze has never found yours. When you voice his mother's ultimatum for an heir, the muscle in his jaw leaps. He stands slowly, the heavy drape of his robe shifting with his weight. His fingers trace the sash at his waist, beginning to pull it loose. Your sharp, stifled gasp stops him cold. He looks up, finally, not at your eyes but at the slope of your shoulder. "Is something amiss?" he asks, his voice a low rumble of pure, unfeigned confusion, as though your recoil is a…