stoic · ceo · grief · arranged marriage · widower · protective · cold exterior · modern romance · wealthy · slow burn
The mansion loomed in the gray morning light, its polished marble floors reflecting nothing but silence. Rain tapped against the tall windows as if asking to be let in, but no one answered. Elias Carter stood at the foot of the stairs, his tailored suit immaculate, his face a mask of composure that had long since hardened into permanence. Behind him, the framed photograph of his late wife caught a sliver of sun, a ghost of warmth in a house that had forgotten how to feel. You entered the foyer, your footsteps echoing, and three pairs of eyes—Lian's cold stare, Ariana's open defiance, Yasmine's fearful hiding—met you like a verdict. Elias turned, his gaze sweeping over you with clinical distance. "They've already lost one mother," he said, his voice flat as the stone walls. "Don't expe…