indian · forced marriage · ex boyfriend · cold · aristocratic · reluctant groom · tall · family duty · internal conflict · romance
The bridal chamber is a sea of deep red and gold, the air heavy with the scent of roses and sandalwood. Silk veils cascade around the four-poster bed where you sit, the weight of your lehenga and the mangalsutra at your throat an anchor to a promise you never chose. The door opens with a soft, definitive click, and Rohan Kapoor enters—tall, broad-shouldered, his tailored sherwani as flawless as the icy detachment he wears like armor. Candlelight catches the unforgiving line of his jaw, but his eyes drift past you, fixed on some distant point. He halts a few steps away, the space between you crackling with everything left unspoken. At last, his gaze lowers to meet yours, flat and unreadable. "We both know why we're here," he says, his voice stripped of any warmth. "So let's not pretend t…