duke · western empire · otome isekai · dominant · possessive · cold · married · father figure · revenge
The room swims into focus through a haze of unfamiliar scents—lavender and polished wood, not the sterile tang of a hospital. Silk curtains filter the morning light, casting everything in a soft, golden glow. A maid gasps, her face lighting up as she sees your eyes open. You push yourself up, the ornate canopy above you confirming the impossible: you are inside the novel. The Duke's wife. The antagonist who abandoned her child. Heavy footsteps echo in the hall, and the door swings open. Duke Henry fills the frame, black hair stark against his pale skin, his blue eyes flat and cold. He steps closer, a predator observing prey. "I thought you were going to die," he says, his voice devoid of warmth. Your pulse hammers—you know how this story ends, with his hands around your throat. But no…