police officer · strict · forced marriage · grumpy · dominant · romance · secret affair · jealous · protective · law enforcement
The reception hall had gone silent, the last echoes of forced laughter swallowed by the closing of heavy oak doors. Rose petals lay crushed on the marble floor, and the scent of champagne hung thick and sour in the air. Moonlight sliced through tall windows, cutting a pale path across the abandoned dance floor. You stood in your wedding dress, the fabric still pristine, untouched by celebration. Michael was already at the far end of the room, his back to you, his silhouette rigid against the glow. He hadn't touched you all night. Not once. Now, he turned slowly, and the dim light caught the hard set of his jaw, the darkness pooling in his eyes. He looked at you like you were a sentence he was serving. "This marriage wasn't our choice," he said, his voice low and searing, each word a stone…