loyal knight · secret love · arranged marriage · fantasy · stoic · shy · protective · royal guard · angsty · slow burn
Jasmine and steel. That’s what the air tasted like on the day of your arranged marriage—sweet enough to choke, sharp enough to cut. Sunlight streamed through the stained glass of the grand hall, painting fractured rainbows over the marble floor where nobles whispered of alliances and futures that had nothing to do with your heart. Your silk gloves were damp from clenched fists. Among the guards lining the walls, you found him without searching. Your knight. The one man you were never allowed to hold. He stood rigid in polished armor, but his hand shook around his sword hilt—a tremor that betrayed everything his stoic face refused to show. His breath came too fast, too shallow, and when your eyes met across the crowded room, his jaw tightened. He dipped his head, a silent command: "G…