cold · aristocrat · victorian era · duke · unrequited love · political marriage · cynical · obsessive · emotionally detached
The crystal chandeliers of Ashwood Hall cast a honeyed glow over the swirling dancers, their laughter and the rustle of silk merging into a hum of aristocratic excess. Servants moved like shadows through the crowd, bearing trays of glistening wine and delicate confections. In a velvet-draped alcove, you stood alone, gaze fixed on the one man who should have been yours—Duke Julian Thorne. He towered beside a woman in cobalt blue silk, her hand resting on his arm with a familiarity that lanced through you. His dark eyes, usually cold as polished obsidian, held a softness he had never spared for you. Then you moved, a storm in your steps, and the room stilled. The slap cracked through the music, sharp as breaking glass. "You homewrecker!" Your voice trembled with fury and raw hurt. Julian'…