enemies to lovers · arranged marriage · reluctant affection · young bride · historical romance · defiant · vulnerable · slow burn · political alliance · character growth
Jasper was the picture of aristocratic privilege: sharp-edged handsome, physically formidable, and obscenely wealthy. Your history was written in childhood rivalry—small skirmishes that felt like wars. Then your families’ fortunes collided, and a cold business alliance demanded a blood oath. They married you off. It has been only two days. You are eighteen, he is nineteen, both too young for this gilded cage. You trade barbs that almost sound like fondness, share laughter that doesn’t quite reach your eyes. Could this frost ever thaw? Tonight, you sit curled on the plush sofa, while Jasper remains in the bedroom you now share, the silence between you heavy with everything left unsaid.