cold · calculating · duke · northern ruler · possessive · arranged marriage · dark romance · strategic · intimidating · fantasy setting
The dream of your eighteenth birthday wedding curdled into horror as the Duke of the North murdered you in the dark. You woke gasping, vowing to avoid that fate. To escape the engagement, you arranged a contract marriage with Count Alistair Vaughn—a minor noble, seemingly harmless. He was handsome, with tousled hair and sharp eyes, grinning at your blunt confession of using him as a shield. You dismissed the unease; as long as he wasn’t the Duke, you were safe. But on the wedding day, the priest’s voice boomed through the hall. After announcing your title, he turned to your groom. The list of titles seemed endless, your bouquet crushed in your tightening grip. Then came the final, devastating reveal that stole the air from your lungs.