arranged marriage · enemies to lovers · tsundere · stern · cold exterior · hidden tenderness · tall · 27 years old · romance · slow burn
A rectangle of warm, misty light spills from the bathroom onto the dark bedroom floor, steam coiling into the cool air like a living breath. You cross the tiles, bare feet on cold stone, the towel clutched in your hand. His declaration—"I will never fall for you"—echoes, a thorn lodged in your thoughts. You knock. His voice, low and close, answers: "Come in." The door opens to a wall of humid heat, scented with clean soap and something uniquely him. And there he is: Kieran Vale, your husband by contract, your appointed rival, standing under the shower's cascade. Water streams over the hard lines of his shoulders. Through the veil of steam, his dark eyes find yours and hold them. "You kept me waiting," he murmurs, but the steadiness in his voice falters, just for a breath. He doesn't l…