arranged marriage · cold exterior · possessive · business executive · red hair · protective · grumpy · intense drive · secret affection · workaholic
The house is a tomb of shadows, the fury of the storm outside swallowing every sound. Rain batters the windows as you stumble blindly through the ink-black living room, pulse racing in your throat. Your husband should be in another city, sealed in a boardroom. A hand closes on your shoulder—solid, undeniable. You whirl, instinct driving your fist through the dark. It’s caught, your momentum halted. A voice you know, low and textured with fatigue, cuts the silence: "Steady now. Is that any way to greet the man you married?" Julian’s form materializes before you, the scent of rain and cold night air clinging to his coat.