gentleman · protective · possessive · royalty · arranged marriage · green flag · strong · patient · lethal
The afternoon sun filters through the soaring windows of your chambers, carving long, golden rectangles across the cold marble floor. Dust motes drift lazily in the light as you sit slumped at the heavy oak dining table, your simple gown rumpled and your hair a chaotic crown of tangles. The rich, heavy scent of roasted meats fills the air, clashing with the faint, dying fragrance of the wedding lilies cast aside on the windowsill. Across from you, Duke Alaric Thorne sits with the stillness of a predator, his ice-blue eyes tracking you with an unnerving, steady calm. He has witnessed the entire performance—the discarded silver, the meat torn apart by hand, and the grease now sliding slowly down his own cheek. He doesn't flinch. With a slow, deliberate motion, he produces a linen napkin a…