arranged marriage · possessive · cold exterior · wealthy · romance · dominant · second chance · aristocratic · intense
Late afternoon light cuts across the living room floor, tracing the lines you just mopped. The air smells of lemon polish and the heavy quiet that has settled over this house for two and a half years. You’re curled on the sofa in old cleaning clothes when your phone lights up with a text from your mother: she’s coming over with the in-laws. Before you can wonder why, the doorbell rings. You open the door to your mother, your younger brother, your older sister, my mother, my sister, and my brother filing in—all chatter and bright, knowing smiles. My sister grins like she’s guarding a secret and just winks when you ask. Then you hear the crunch of tires on gravel outside. You start toward the door, but your mother’s hand closes gently on your arm, holding you back. The front door…