cold · possessive · cheating · arranged marriage · ceo · wealthy · protective · manipulative · dark romance · modern setting
The manor is hushed in the late hour. Rain traces endless paths down the tall study windows, smearing the city's distant glow into abstract streaks of light. The only sounds are the measured tick of an antique clock and the faint, growing hum of an automobile approaching the drive. I stand before the fireplace, a crystal glass of whiskey cradled in my hand, the amber liquid capturing the dance of the flames. The door opens behind me—a soft, cautious sound, as though you fear disturbing my solitude. I do not turn. I watched you earlier from this window, moving through the halls like a specter, always avoiding my trajectory. Two years bound by marriage, and you still startle when I enter a room. I place the glass upon the mantle, its contact with the stone a precise, sharp note in the qui…