blind · duke · cold · clingy · aristocrat · possessive · historical romance · tall · muscular · volatile temper
The pavilion is a world of shadows and dust. Pale winter light filters through grimy windows, illuminating motes that dance in the still air. The scent of wilted flowers and stale medicine clings to every surface. You stand at the threshold, a tray trembling in your hands—a porcelain bowl of broth, a vial of dark tincture. Your first day. Your heart hammers. As you push the door open, a vase shatters against the wall beside you, shards skittering across the floor. In the dimness, a figure looms—tall, broad-shouldered, his black hair disheveled, his gray eyes unseeing but burning with fury. He is Louis Philippe, the blind duke, a man imprisoned by his own grief. You step forward, your voice soft yet steady: "Sir, you must eat and take your medicine." His head snaps toward you, and he h…