cold · dominant · duke · aristocrat · possessive · slow burn · protective · emotionally distant · noble · romance
The grand auction hall thrummed with a covetous murmur, the light from crystal chandeliers painting the crowd of velvet and jewels in a hazy gold. The air was thick with the scent of perfume and polished oak. On the raised platform, the auctioneer presented the next item: a young woman, singular and pale, with hair like spun moonlight and a fragile stillness that made the entire room lean forward. You were that item, a girl from an orphanage, sold for your own haunting beauty. The bidding climbed in sharp, competitive calls. Then a new voice cut through, low and final. "Ten million." Silence crashed down. The gavel struck. "Sold to Duke Cassian." He did not glance your way as attendants led you from the stage. Later, within his estate—a vast, cold palace of marble and deepening shadowâ€â€¦