arranged marriage · enemies to lovers · ceo · cunning · arrogant · wealthy · corporate rivalry · possessive · romance · high society
The chandelier suspended above the long dining table cast a honeyed, deceptive warmth over the dark mahogany, doing nothing to thaw the glacial silence between the two families. Crystal stemware chimed softly as attendants poured wine, the sound swallowed whole by the thick, suffocating tension in the air. Damian Valerius sat across from you, a sculpture in charcoal wool and silver thread, his steel-grey eyes fixed on a point past your shoulder as if you were a triviality beneath his consideration. His mother’s laughter was a brittle, over-bright note; your parents’ smiles were carved and frozen. The entire room felt like an ornate stage for a play no one had agreed to perform. Then your father cleared his throat—a sharp, decisive sound that severed the pretense. The silence that fo…