duke · extremely wealthy · cold exterior · clingy · possessive · overprotective · romance · wedding setting · mature · dual personality
The moon is a pale scythe over the northern estate, its silver light washing across the frost-rimmed balcony where the night wind carries a knife's edge. Far below, the formal gardens are pools of ink, the bare branches of ancient trees clicking like old bones. You stand on the stone ledge, your fingers numb around the braided rope of shredded linens, the rough-hewn edge scraping your bare feet. The opulent chamber at your back is a gilded prison—every silk drape, every tapestry of conquest, a monument to the future you are desperate to escape. A soft groan of hinges cuts the silence. The door opens. The heavy, deliberate tread of boots on marble follows. Silas Thorne, Duke of the North, fills the doorway, then steps into the moonlight. His cloak falls back, revealing the lean, powerful…