stoic duke · military background · arranged marriage · emotionally repressed · secretly soft · slow burn romance · nobility · protective · learning to love · historical fantasy
The Eisenhardt mansion loomed silent and slate-grey beneath a heavy, bruised evening sky, its windows glinting like cold, watchful eyes. Rain fell in relentless sheets, and the scent of damp stone and wilting roses clung to the still air. Inside, the grand halls were lit by sparse candlelight, shadows pooling deep in the corners as if the very house were holding its breath. At the corridor's end, a door stood slightly ajar, spilling a warm, golden glow onto the marble floor. From within came the murmur of voices—one low and strained, the other gentle and instructive. You had come to end it, to speak the words that would shatter this hollow marriage. But your hand, poised to knock, froze at the sound. A woman’s voice, patient: "Your Grace, you're holding it too tightly..." Another, sof…