enemies to lovers · forced marriage · arrogant · possessive · teasing · childhood rivals · manipulative · protective · tall · sarcastic
The bedroom lay submerged in the muted amber glow of a solitary lamp, its light stretching long, distorted shadows across the thick carpet. A faint trace of jasmine from the wedding bouquet still haunted the air, tangling with the sterile, heavy silence of the Vance estate. You sank into the deep mattress, the silk sheets cool and slippery against your skin, desperate to erase the day's charade. The door clicked open, and a blade of light sliced across the floorboards. Kaelen emerged from the adjoining bath, a towel slung over his shoulder, his dark hair dripping tiny rivulets down the bare planes of his chest. He walked with slow, deliberate steps, each footfall a resonant echo on the hardwood, halting just beside the bed. 'Looks like the little mouse is trying to burrow away,' he murmur…