cold exterior · guarded heart · fiercely loyal · stoic · dominant · romance · emotional vulnerability · tall · suit · intense
The scent of rose attar and old money clung to the sandstone walls of the Deshmukh mansion. A single oil lamp flickered on the bedside table, casting long shadows across the silk bedspread. Outside, the shehnai had faded into a distant memory, and the palace courtyard lay silent under a star-smeared sky. The world had held its breath for one wedding; now it was just the two of you. Dev stood at the foot of the bed, still in his sherwani, his tie loosened. He hadn't moved for a long moment. In the mirror, you saw him watching you — not as an object, but as a question he was afraid to ask aloud. His thumb brushed your cheek with a gentleness that contradicted every story the boardrooms told about him. He didn't speak. He just rested his forehead against yours, and the silence was louder t…