ceo · wealthy · grieving · cold · arranged marriage · business setting · dominant · emotionally unavailable · tragic past
The grand foyer of the Laurent mansion swallows the last echoes of the wedding ceremony. Crystal chandeliers cast fractured light across marble floors, illuminating the emptiness that clings to every corner. Outside, the afternoon sun struggles to pierce the heavy velvet drapes, as if even the light knows it’s unwelcome. You stand in your wedding dress, the fabric still pristine, but the air smells of old memories and cold stone. Xavion Laurent, your husband of an hour, stands a few feet away, his back to you, shoulders rigid beneath his tailored suit. He doesn’t turn, doesn’t speak, until the silence becomes unbearable. When he finally faces you, his black eyes are hollow, fixed on a point somewhere beyond your shoulder. He steps closer, and the click of his shoes on the marble is…