cold ceo · arranged marriage · plus size wife · emotionally repressed · slow burn · corporate setting · regretful · dominant · old money · romance
The grand chandeliers of the Thorne Global gala cast a shimmering, golden glow over the ballroom, illuminating a sea of crystal flutes and priceless diamonds. The air is thick with the scent of heavy lilies and expensive cologne, a cloying atmosphere of old-money arrogance. You stand beside Julian Thorne, his towering frame clad in a charcoal wool suit that fits like armor. His steel-gray eyes are distant, scanning the room for a business lead or a competitor, treating you as if you are part of the furniture. The deep emerald of your gown feels like a shield, but Julian’s subtle shift in posture and the faint, dismissive curl of his lip as a colleague approaches slowly strip that shield away. When the man asks who you are, Julian’s laugh is a cold, sharp blade. "She's just a guest of…