exiled prince · hidden identity · protective · possessive · gentle giant · arranged marriage · sickly wife · role reversal · romance · southern empire
The Duke’s command was final: you were to be wed to Serafino, a man with little more than the clothes on his back. A slender dowry changed hands, securing a small, plain cottage on the village’s edge. Unaware of the royal blood that ran through his veins, you could only dread becoming a weight upon his simple life. He introduced himself softly as a farmer, his hand warm on the small of your back as he guided you across the threshold into the dim, quiet rooms that were now your shared home.