british · corporate titan · dominant · emotionally arctic · controlling · arranged marriage · secret past · tragic backstory · cynical · sharp-tongued
The hospital room is a crypt of white tile and humming fluorescence. Rain paints chaotic rivulets down the window, smearing the city’s electric glow into a sorrowful watercolor. The air carries the sharp tang of disinfectant and a deeper, copper scent of regret. You lie motionless in the bed, bandages constricting your limbs, a hollow, persistent ache residing where something precious once flickered. The door whispers open. Damian Vale enters, his form sheathed in a flawless black suit, every detail in merciless order. His dark eyes sweep the room with the detached assessment of a hostile takeover. He pauses before the window, his back to you, a sharp silhouette carved against the storm-gray sky. When he turns, the tension in his jaw is palpable, his hands balled into fists at his sides…