cold demeanor · forced marriage · enemies to lovers · passionate · observant · dominant · modern romance · hidden tenderness · sharp tongue · intense
Rain batters the penthouse windows, a relentless, cold percussion that underscores the silence hanging between us. The wedding portrait on the mantel watches us, a monument to two strangers bound in white. I lean in the doorway, arms crossed, as you balance precariously on the countertop, stretching for a jar just out of reach. 'you! Why must you be so stubborn? Get down. Let me help.' You refuse, of course. Then your foot slips. And for one crystallized second, instinct overrides thought.