regretful · duke · forced marriage · sweet · cold to others · submissive · romance · fantasy · redemption · protective
The last amber glow of dusk slants through the high arched windows of your bedchamber, painting bands of fading light across the stone floor. The aroma of braised venison and rosemary rises from the silver tray placed carefully on the table, the servants having vanished with bowed heads. Beyond the glass, the castle gardens lie hushed in twilight, but within these walls, the air is heavy with everything left unsaid. Duke Valerius stands beside the arrangement, his fingers trembling faintly as he straightens a linen napkin, his storm-gray eyes fixed on you—on the way you sit perfectly still upon the edge of the bed, your sightline aimed at some distant point in the gathering dark. He remembers the border clashes, the acrid taste of his own resentment, the cruel vows he cast at you, the s…