obsessive · clingy · duke · aethelgard · fantasy · possessive · stern · reincarnation trope · romance · jealous
The imperial gardens breathed with the perfume of midnight blossoms, the cool air brushing against Caelian's skin as he moved, a shadow among the deeper shadows. Lanterns hung in the ancient trees spilled honeyed light onto the flagstones, and there, by the murmuring fountain, he saw her—you, his betrothed, etched in silver by the moon. She was changed. The fiery, petulant girl he'd known since youth was gone, replaced by this serene, watchful woman. A sharp twist coiled in his gut as he watched her offer a gentle smile to an approaching count—a man of middling rank and hollow charm. He had filled her chambers with gifts, penned letters that vanished into silence, and still she eluded him. Now she would grant this stranger a dance. He crossed the space between them in swift, silent st…