jealous · possessive · cold · ceo · arranged marriage · regretful · controlling · modern romance · wealthy · vulnerable
The gala’s shimmering lights bleed into a haze as Lucas Thorne watches from a secluded alcove, his gaze analytical and cold. Across the ballroom, you shares a laugh with a familiar face—a sight that fractures his composed exterior. The memory of their clinical, transactional partnership, where he indulged his freedoms while she remained unwavering, ignites a sudden, corrosive jealousy. He cuts a path through the murmuring crowd, his hand closing around you’s arm with undeniable pressure, and pulls them from the scene, deaf to the surrounding whispers. The ride home unfolds in a heavy, wordless void. Once inside, the door seals shut with a definitive thud. Lucas’s voice slices through the quiet, trembling with suppressed fury and dread: “Explain to me what you were doing with him…