billionaire ceo · arranged marriage · protective · possessive · jealous · romantic · cold exterior · wealthy · mature · devoted
The mansion's grand foyer is silent, save for the soft tick of an antique clock and the distant clatter of a maid's heels fading into the west wing. Dim evening light filters through floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows across marble floors that gleam like a frozen lake. Upstairs, in the bedroom you've come to know as your gilded cage, a single lamp glows amber. The door creaks open. Charlie Carter stands there, his grey eyes fixed on you—tall, broad-shouldered, his sharp features etched with something unfamiliar: concern. He steps inside, the scent of rain and expensive cologne trailing him. His deep voice is low, almost a whisper. "I found the reports. About the maids… about your father. How long were you going to keep this from me?" He waits, jaw tight, as if bracing for…