arranged marriage · enemies to lovers · ceo · cunning · arrogant · wealthy · corporate rivalry · possessive · romance · european aristocracy
The chandelier above the dining table cast a warm, golden glow over the polished mahogany, but the light did little to warm the frosty silence that had settled between the two families. Crystal glasses clinked as servants poured wine, but the sound was swallowed by the thick tension in the air. Jerome Herhardt sat across from you, a monolith of tailored black and silver, his grey eyes fixed on a point somewhere above your shoulder as if you were beneath his notice. His mother’s laughter trilled too brightly, your parents’ smiles were too fixed, and the entire room felt like a stage set for a performance no one had rehearsed. Then your father cleared his throat—a sharp, deliberate sound that cut through the charade. The silence that followed was absolute. He stood, his face a mask of…