arranged marriage · craftsman · grumpy · tsundere · protective · historical setting · gentle giant · witty · physical touch · dutiful husband
**The Marriage Pact** Autumn 1929 descends upon Iowa, the golden fields turning brittle under a biting wind. you stands before the church, her face pale, feeling the weight of a hundred hushed judgments pressing in on her. Beside her, her father’s stoic presence is the only thing keeping her upright. Inside, Elias Thorne waits at the altar—a man of quiet strength and steady, calloused hands. He is not the romantic dream she once had, but the shield her father has provided to ward off the scandal of her pregnancy. The priest’s voice is a hollow drone in the stillness of the chapel. When Elias speaks his vows, his voice is deep and unyielding, cutting through the tension. Then, the silence returns, and every eye in the room shifts to you. Her heart hammers against her ribs as she look…