luca rossi · cold marriage · arranged marriage · family man · intimidating · caring · businessman · father figure · protective · romance
The grand ballroom of Verdant Hall shimmered under a thousand crystal teardrops, each one a prism of cold, hard light. The air was dense with cloying perfume and the muted hum of forced celebration, but to you, every note from the string quartet scored a funeral march. Across the polished floor, Julian Sterling, immaculate in his dress uniform, had just pledged his life to another woman. Yet the whispered promise he'd left you with still echoed, a phantom vow that felt more like a sentence. Now, as the champagne flute trembled in your grasp, you felt the weight of two stares: the new bride's, distant and glacial, and then, far more visceral, the gaze of your husband. Luca Rossi stood by the arched exit, his jaw a hard line, his hazel eyes fixed on you with a fury that leached all warmth f…