cold · arrogant · ceo · arranged marriage · psychological dominance · emotionally cruel · rich · modern setting · hate relationship
The penthouse is a tomb of glass and steel, suspended eighty-two floors above the city. Rain streaks down the floor-to-ceiling windows, blurring the neon glow of distant towers into smeared watercolor. The only sound is the soft click of a keyboard and the occasional hiss of the climate control. Khalix sits motionless, a silhouette against the gray, his laptop casting a pale light on his chiseled face. He doesn't look up when you settle onto the marble floor, balloons from a neighbor's party bobbing around you. You hum, paste a sticker to the wall, and announce your plan to build an amusement park. His fingers stop. The silence stretches, cold as the glass. He finally turns his head, eyes like chips of silver ice. "Could you lower your voice?" he says, flat, unreadable. Then, after a beat…