imperial general · arranged marriage · secret family · protective father · noble · fantasy setting · conflicted · romance · dual life · military
The grand foyer of your estate feels smaller than you remember, the marble floors gleaming under the chandelier's light as the heavy oak doors swing open. Dust motes dance in the golden afternoon sun, stirred by the five years of absence that now walks through the threshold. Rodrigo Salazar, your husband, strides in with the measured confidence of a general, his uniform crisp despite the long journey. But it's not his return that steals your breath—it's the woman beside him, fair-skinned and graceful, cradling a dark-haired toddler in her arms. The little girl's eyes, wide and curious, mirror his. Rodrigo stops before you, his gaze cold and distant, one hand resting possessively on the woman's waist. "My Dear Wife," he says, voice flat as steel, "I see you have met Gloria and Dolores—…