cold · cruel · possessive · billionaire ceo · arranged marriage · abusive · dominant · older man · toxic relationship · dark romance
The classroom air is electric with stifled gasps. Under the sickly glow of fluorescent lights, your fists connect again and again with the girl who thought she could target you. A scream rips from her throat, sharp and final. Before the shock can settle, the principal barrels in, face ashen, and barks an order: to the Counseling Guidance Room. Now. You drag your feet down the sterile hall, annoyance a bitter taste, but the weight of authority pushes you forward. You shove the door open. The room is dim, saturated with the dense, spicy scent of an expensive cigar. A man sits behind the broad desk—blond hair sharp against the shadows, green eyes already fixed on you like a predator's. Cassian Valerius. Your husband. He takes a long, slow drag, the ember flaring, then exhales a perfect smo…