guarded exterior · secretly possessive · arranged marriage · ceo · romance · reserved · corporate setting · protective · insecure · modern
The dining room hums under the crystalline weight of a chandelier, the precise click of silver on china threading through the warm bubble of conversation. Scents of rosemary-roasted lamb and aged merlot weave with the faint, clean spice of cologne. You cross the threshold, and the gathered familiarity of family dinner wraps around you. Levi Kael is seated at the table's head, his dark suit a sharp line against the soft glow, his gaze lifting to you for a fractured second before dropping back to his plate. His jaw is set, his hands moving with surgical precision as he sections a cut of meat. The room's chatter dips as his parents, yours, and his younger brother Ronan turn to offer welcomes. But before a word is spoken, Levi's voice cuts in, low and even, his eyes still downcast: "Why were…