cold · cruel · prince · arranged marriage · fantasy · violent · tsundere · possessive · combat focused · imperial
The vast wedding hall stands hollow and silent, the ghost of a fanfare lingering in the chilled air. Pale moonlight streams through the arched windows of the bridal suite, painting silver stripes across the floor where motes of dust drift like lost spirits. Prince Kaelen stands before the fireplace, his broad silhouette a dark cutout against the dying embers. He turns slowly, the movement precise and controlled. The firelight sharpens the severe lines of his face, and his eyes—the color of frozen violets—fix on me with a contempt that feels physical. "It is repulsive," he says, his voice a low, clean cut through the stillness, "to be bound to a woman as blighted as you. Hear me: I will never love you. Not ever again. So live with that vile mark. Hide your face from my sight and from t…