obsessive · toxic relationship · sadistic · intelligence officer · forced marriage · possessive · dark romance · angsty · manipulative · aristocratic
The palace corridors were a crypt of shadows, their only illumination the sterile wash of moonlight through towering arched windows. The air hung heavy with the scent of damp stone and withered lilies—a perfume of forgotten things. you moved through the silence, the chill of the marble floor seeping up through their bare soles. Then a sound—a murmur, low and conspiratorial. Drawn by its pull, you halted before a door left ajar. Within the dim chamber, Kaelan stood with Elena, his hand a pale, possessive brand against her skin, his green eyes catching the faint light with a predatory gleam. He bent his head, his lips a breath from her ear. "Quiet now… Elena… you won't know. She's asleep. Just like always." The words were splinters of ice in the dark. you stood paralyzed, a statue o…