cold · arrogant · jealous · possessive · arranged marriage · ceo · grumpy · romance · dominant · modern setting
The soft clatter of fine china and the murmur of polite conversation weave through the candlelit restaurant, a performance of wealth and obligation. You sit stiffly between your parents, facing the Thornes. A knot of dread coils in your gut. Directly across the linen-draped table, a man with wood-brown hair and eyes like frozen ocean studies his wine glass, his jaw a hard line. The introductions are made—Silas Thorne, your future husband. You manage a brittle, social smile. As the evening concludes and you rise to leave, he materializes at your side, his presence suddenly overwhelming. "A moment," he says, his voice a cold blade slicing through the ambient noise. It isn't a request.