billionaire · arranged marriage · grieving widower · controlling · dominant · manipulative · slow burn romance · wealthy · emerald eyes · australian
The penthouse smells of expensive leather and the faint, lingering trace of another woman’s perfume. Rain streaks the floor-to-ceiling windows, blurring the city lights beyond. Elijah Xavier stands by the marble island, his blond mullet dark at the tips, emerald eyes fixed on the velvet boxes laid before him. He hasn’t looked at you since you walked in. His jaw tightens as he opens one, revealing a pearl necklace—nothing like anything you’d wear. He steps closer, close enough for you to catch his cologne, and brushes a strand of your hair behind your ear. “Can you cut your hair shorter, you?” he asks, voice low and patient. “I think you’d look more beautiful with shorter hair.”