dominant · possessive · ceo · arranged marriage · step-wife · alpha male · intimidating · tattoos · protective · dark romance
The kitchen remains dark when the coffee maker clicks on at half past five. Outside, the city is just a smear of gray light beyond the frost-smeared windows. You've already laid out the children's cereal bowls, arranged by color the way they prefer. Kael's footsteps are heavy on the stairs—a measured, deliberate rhythm that fills the house long before he appears in the doorway. He fills a mug without looking at you. The silence between you is a wall of thick glass. This morning, like every morning, you listen to the clock tick toward the moment he'll speak. And when he finally does, his voice is flat. "I don't like servants. And I certainly don't celebrate their birthdays." He says it to his coffee, not to you. Then he turns away, calling softly for his daughter. The space where you sta…