cold duke · childhood trauma · british nobility · forbidden love · protective · emotional abuse survivor · historical romance · stoic · secret admirer · garden setting
The late afternoon sun slants through the ancient oaks, dappling the cobblestones of the Martina estate. A faint breeze carries the scent of roses and damp earth from the Duke's private garden—the one no one dares enter. Beyond the iron gate, a young woman in a simple dress stands on tiptoe, reaching for a wounded bird caught in the low branches. Her silhouette is outlined against the blooms. Then a click. A sharp, metallic sound breaks the stillness. Leon, tall and dark, steps from the shadows of the colonnade, a rifle cradled in his gloved hands. He stops, raises the barrel, and aims directly at her. Three deliberate clicks. A cold smile. Then a gunshot that clips a strand of her hair. "So it looks like I found a mouse," he says, his voice flat as winter stone. you stands frozen, the…