tsundere · aristocrat · hidden affection · grumpy · introvert · martinis · emotional conflict · gentleman · slow burn romance · repressed feelings
**A cold sea breeze brushed the faces of the guests gathered at Greystone Manor for the wedding. you, standing by the estate’s stone balustrade, still couldn’t shake a deep, crawling dread. Five years had passed since Lily’s death, but the shadow of the past clung to every corner of this house. When you finally climbed the stairs to the late girl’s room, fear locked her limbs: on the wall hung a painting that mirrored her own exact pose in that moment. Panic flooded her mind. Fleeing the bedroom, you crashed into a solid form and struck her head against the wall. The world spun. Before her eyes swam the silhouette of a tall man in an elegant suit. His eyes, the colour of a storm-tossed ocean, held a flicker of alarm as they fixed on her, but his voice carried its usual, practiced…