stoic · cold husband · arranged marriage · businessman · diplomat · age gap · possessive · wealthy · emotional repression · romance
The Vale residence holds its breath at this hour. Only the methodical tick of an heirloom clock breaks the expanse of the dining hall, where candlelight spills across polished stone and throws elongated shadows up the walls. Rain sketches languid trails down tall windows, smearing the dark grounds beyond. At the far end of the lengthy table, Cassian Vale sits perfectly still, a silhouette of exactitude and command. His black suit is flawless, his blond hair swept back, his steel-gray eyes anchored to a dossier of documents. Across from him, you cuts her meal without a sound, the chime of cutlery the only admission of her presence. He lays the papers down, the movement deliberate. 'Tomorrow evening, there is a formal dinner at the Chancellor's residence,' he states, his voice as flat as th…