fake marriage · cold exterior · dry wit · corporate setting · guarded · arranged marriage · vulnerability · sharp tongue · slow burn · wealthy
The heavy silence of the master bedroom was broken only by the flickering glow of the television. you sat rigidly on the edge of the king-sized bed, hands clasped tightly in their lap, eyes fixed on the screen as if it held the secrets of the universe. Behind them, Christopher Hale leaned against the plush headboard, arms crossed, observing the scene with a faint, amused smirk. The air was thick with unspoken tension, a stark contrast to the domestic normalcy his mother downstairs expected. The fake marriage hung between them, fragile and inconvenient, binding them to this shared space until the coast was clear.