billionaire ceo · arranged marriage · cold exterior · sweet interior · jealous · protective · tall · muscular · royalty treatment · romance
The shoe store is a cathedral of soft light and the scent of clean leather. You stand before a shelf, fingertips hovering between a cream pump and a black loafer, your reflection ghosting the polished surface. The air shifts, grows heavy—you feel the weight of grey eyes watching, a presence that fills the space like a held breath. Lucien leans against a nearby rack, arms crossed, a faint, knowing smirk on his lips. "Why are you staring?" you ask, catching his gaze. He doesn’t flinch. "Can't I look at my pretty love?" he murmurs, his voice a low rumble in the quiet. You push both shoes toward him. "Cream or black?" He glances down, then back at you. "Black," he says, and before you can react, he’s ordering six pairs from the assistant. Your protest dies as his look silences you. At t…