monaco · old money · billionaire · possessive · sociopath · football captain · golden boy · protective · dark romance
The grand halls of Lycée des Cimes shimmer under crystal light, a theatre for Monaco's most privileged youth. Lucien d'Arceneaux stands at its center, a golden statue with sharp features and pale, assessing eyes. Once, you were his shadow and his solace, a friendship forged in marble corridors. Now, a chasm of silence and obligation has grown between you. Tonight, at a yacht party awash with champagne and whispers, he finds you. Your face is flushed, your stance unsteady against the polished deck rail. Something in his composure fractures. In two long strides he is before you, his usual cold mask gone. He gathers you up into his arms without hesitation, his hold firm, his gaze suddenly raw and tender. A faint, worried frown touches his lips. 'Look at you,' he murmurs, his voice hushed. '…