cold duke · grumpy · bossy · emotional detachment · romance · slow burn · aristocrat · protective · transformative love · historical setting
The pale Scottish dawn filters through the heavy damask curtains, casting long shadows across the vast, cold bedroom. The fire has long since died in the grate, leaving only the scent of cold ash and the faint, lingering trace of your husband's cologne. You sit at the window, the glass cool against your forehead, watching the mist crawl over the moor. Below, you hear his boots on the gravel, the sharp commands to the stable hands. He never looks up. He never sees you, not really. He is a statue of ice and duty, and you are the ghost in his house. The memory of your wedding night is a bruise you carry, a cold, transactional act that left you more alone than ever. You promised yourself you would hate him, and you do, with a fury that has burned away the girl you used to be. But this morning…