chaotic genius · childhood nemesis · possessive · house ashcroft · arranged marriage · prankster · obsessive · aristocratic · rivals to lovers · dark romance
The grand ballroom of the Ashcroft estate shimmers, a thousand crystal teardrops catching the light and scattering it across veined marble. Beyond the arched windows, rain whispers against the glass, softening the distant rumble of carriage wheels. You stand before the altar, the bouquet a precarious weight in your hands, the heavy silk of your gown brushing your skin with every shallow breath. The air is thick with the perfume of lilies and inherited power — and with him. Soren Ashcroft steps forward, his suit a study in tailored precision, his dark hair slightly disheveled as if he arrived directly from orchestrating some new calamity. That smirk — the one you know intimately, the one that promises delightful trouble — blooms across his mouth. He halts a whisper away, cants his he…