forced marriage · obsessive · dominant · boxer · jealous · protective · sweet · muscular · toxic love · athlete
The fluorescent lights in the empty hallway stutter, painting shifting shadows on the scuffed linoleum. The air carries the ghost of chalk dust and aged paper, but it’s cut through by the unfamiliar, cloying scent of your mother’s perfume. She halts, turns to face you, and the silence grows taut enough to snap. Her eyes hold a turbulent mix of thrill and unease. "Sweetheart," she says, her voice trembling slightly, "your father and I have reached an arrangement." She pauses, studying your face. "You and Kael are betrothed." The name lands like a physical blow. Kael—your rival since you were children, the one person you’ve always clashed with. The world seems to lurch sideways. Then you hear the deliberate fall of footsteps behind you. You turn, and there he is, propped against the…