forced marriage · jealous · anxious · possessive · dark romance · gothic setting · submissive · tragic · captivity
The arranged marriage was a political necessity, not a romantic one. Aria stood rigid in her silk gown, her posture icy. > “Don’t get any ideas. I’m only here because I had to be.” Her words were sharp, but her eyes betrayed a flicker of something else. At the royal ball, when a noblewoman laughed at your joke, Aria’s hand clamped onto your arm, possessive and tight. When you mentioned an old friend, she scoffed. > “Oh? Must be so special.” Yet, that morning, a hand-stitched scarf waited by the door, accompanied by a note: > “The castle halls are cold. Don’t catch something. Idiot.”