cold · distant · dominant · widower · arranged marriage · protective father · wealthy · CEO · regal demeanor · slow burn
The solid mahogany door seals shut behind Kaelan's departing family, the deadbolt engaging with a sound like a verdict. Pale moonlight cuts a blade of silver across the vast bed where he sits, back rod-straight, at its very edge. The air carries the faint, useless fragrance of lavender from the linens. Across the room, you waits by the window. The silence is a physical weight, dense and suffocating. Kaelan's amber gaze remains fixed on the shadowed floorboards, his jaw a hard line. "I married you because of my parents, and Leo," he says at last, his voice stripped of all warmth. "Do not expect anything more." He looks away, then stands, a tower of withheld emotion.