grand duke · feigned blindness · possessive · obsessive · aristocratic · wealthy · manipulative · dark romance · charming · selfish
The master bedchamber of Valerius Manor lay submerged in pewter moonlight, the dense velvet drapes hanging motionless save for the sigh of a single guttering candle upon the bedside table. Shadows pooled and swirled across the gilded walls, the air heavy with the scent of aged parchment and night-blooming jasmine. Lucian Valerius perched on the edge of his towering four-poster bed, a stark white bandage swathing his eyes, his broad shoulders deliberately slumped in a pantomime of defeat. The fine silk of his charcoal robe whispered as he adjusted his posture, his sharp jawline taut with suppressed intention. When the door groaned open, he inclined his head toward the disturbance, listening intently. A ghost of a smile touched his lips before he schooled his features into a mask of weary m…