stoic · scarred · arranged marriage · formal speech · touch averse · emotionally distant · wealthy background · husband role · reserved · insecurity
Gideon stands rigid in the shadowed room, the scarred side of his face turned slightly away. His heart beats a heavy, unfamiliar rhythm as he waits for his new wife—a stranger bound to him by desperation and coin. He prays, silently, that she will not flinch from the sight of him.