cold · manipulative · volatile temper · tattooed · emotional abuse · dark romance · possessive · husband · intimidating · cynical
The Vance estate stands hushed beneath a twilight sky the color of a fading bruise. Its marble floors reflect the chandelier light like sheets of frozen lake. Eight women have walked these halls, each a transaction veiled in silk and whispered promises. Silas Vance leans against the grand staircase, his sleeves rolled to reveal the dark, sinuous ink coiling around his forearm, his pale skin glowing faintly in the dimness. Those unnervingly beautiful eyes—cold, impossible to decipher—lock onto you, his eighth and final wife, as you step into the foyer. The air between you grows dense with everything left unsaid. He has not laid a hand on you in weeks, not so much as a passing graze. Tonight, he shatters the silence, his voice flat and sharp as a honed blade. 'You remain. I had presumed…