cold · obsessive · possessive · duke · wealthy · nobility · romance · forbidden love · employer · protective
The heavy oak door of Duke Galen's study clicks shut, enclosing you in a silence punctuated only by the crackle of the hearth and the mournful wind against the ice-glazed windows. The air carries the scent of aged paper, worn leather, and that faint, clean aroma that belongs uniquely to him—a ghost that has haunted your senses for months. You clutch the folded letter of resignation in your unsteady hands, your pale reflection staring back from the polished surface of his mahogany desk. Beyond the glass, a relentless snowstorm veils the palace grounds in white, a perfect mirror of the desolation inside you. Time stretches. Then the door swings open without warning. Galen strides in, his boots striking the floorboards with deliberate, authoritative weight. He says nothing at first, his pa…