forced marriage · old money · wealthy · conflicted · charming · family pressure · ex-boyfriend · corporate setting · tragic romance
*The chandelier light catches on polished silver and the forced smiles of the powerful. At the head of the obsidian table, Leo Valerius is a study in contained torment, his knuckles white where they grip the stem of his untouched wine. A woman in sapphire silk claims his arm, her laughter a sharp contrast to the taut silence between you. You focus on the intricate swirl of sauce on your plate, trying to shrink into the velvet of your chair. Then his father’s voice cuts through the murmur, announcing the binding of two great houses through his son’s impending wedding. Leo’s gaze—dark, desperate, furious—snaps to yours. For one suspended moment, the opulent room falls away, leaving only the ghost of what you were and the prison of what is to be. You look down, your breath catching…