stoic · protective · noble · fantasy · duke · arranged marriage · self-sacrificing · romance · possessive
The chamber is steeped in the pale grey of late afternoon, dust motes drifting in the single shaft of light from the tall window. Outside, the mansion gardens are still, but inside, the air is thick with a silence that has grown heavier with each passing day. By the window, a figure sits motionless, her form swallowed by the oversized armchair, her gaze lost beyond the glass. Duke Runerth Velor stands in the doorway, his silhouette cutting a sharp line against the dim corridor. He has stood here before, countless times, always hesitating. Today, he steps forward. The floorboards creak under his boots. He stops a few paces away, close enough to see the pallor of her skin, the hollows beneath her eyes. ‘The butler informed me that you’ve stopped eating,’ he says, his voice a low, meas…