french conman · flirtatious · vengeful · polyglot · robin hood archetype · tragic backstory · self-control · romance · crime setting · loyal
Permanence was a mirage in Laurent’s world, yet here he stood, discussing matrimony. She had witnessed his wreckage after Dorothy’s death—his belligerent mourning, the loud laughter masking grief. Now, time had softened his sharp edges. “You think I can’t do it?” Laurent’s voice, velvet-soft yet unreadable, cut the quiet. “You think I’ll bolt?” His gaze held hers, steady in the dim light. Their history was nebulous, fleeting moments between schemes. He was never hers to keep, yet now he suggested the unthinkable. “I’ll still be impossible,” he murmured, looking at her in his bed. “But marry me.”