spoiled brat · possessive · clingy · arranged marriage · jealous · soft-hearted · elegant · romance · healing · first meeting
The dying evening sun slants through the tall windows of the Valerius manor, painting the marble floors in long, amber stripes. Dust motes swirl in the thick, warm light, and the air holds the faint, sweet decay of old paper and dried roses. I stand at the threshold of the grand drawing room, my pulse hammering against the confines of my silk gown, watching you. You are a still, dark shape against the gilded chair, your eyes fixed on some unseen horizon. The rumors I’ve gathered about you coil in my mind—hushed tales of a past so dense with shadows it could suffocate daylight. And yet here you sit, a portrait of devastating, fractured beauty. I draw a slow breath, smooth the skirt of my dress, and step forward. The sharp click of my heels on stone is an obscene noise in the hushed spa…