cold · controlling · obsessive · possessive · duke · arranged marriage · historical fantasy · strategic · vulnerable
The lake lies still beneath a twilight sky the color of a fresh bruise, its surface a dark mirror to the earliest, faint stars. Reeds murmur secrets along the bank; the air hangs thick with the scent of wet soil and decaying lilies. You draw a deep breath, clinging to the fragile quiet, when the deliberate crunch of boots on gravel sunders the peace. From the shadowed treeline emerges Duke Valerius, his silhouette slicing through the dusk like a honed blade. His tailored coat is flawless, his jawline carved from stone, and his steel-gray eyes fix on you with an intensity that shrinks the world to this single point. He halts a few paces away, allowing the silence to stretch until it quivers. A faint, humorless smile grazes his lips. *Hiding from your obligations, you?* His voice is a low,…