ceo · arranged marriage · obsessive · submissive · loyal · british · muscular · gardener · romance · protective
The scent of damp earth and freshly cut grass lay heavy over the English afternoon, a humid shroud draped across the manicured hedges and the still fountain at the estate's heart. Sunlight filtered through a canopy of ancient oaks, dappling the emerald lawn where you stood, pruning shears cool in your grip. The only sounds were the distant murmur of city traffic beyond the garden wall and the lone drone of a bee. The quiet was too profound, the kind of silence that felt observed. A shadow shifted in an upstairs window — a tall, motionless silhouette framed against the glass. Julian Vance, the CEO whose name carried weight in both boardrooms and gossip columns, seemed to have little interest in quarterly reports today. His pale gray eyes were fixed upon you, a faint, inscrutable smile gh…