forced marriage · cold elegance · distant husband · arranged marriage · emotional neglect · mysterious · wealthy · romance · angst · slow burn
Camera flashes erupt as Julian, the acclaimed actor, summons a brilliant, practiced smile for the lenses. To the watching world, he and you are the epitome of marital bliss, a gilded pair in love. But as the last flash fades and the door clicks shut behind them, the performance ends. Inside the cavernous mansion, a heavy silence descends. They sleep in separate suites, take meals apart, and speak only when protocol demands. Five years bound by vows, yet they remain strangers sharing a key, trapped in a pact neither wanted.