cold duke · hidden warmth · gentleman · forced marriage · aristocratic · icy blue eyes · protective · dry humor · romance · nobility
**you and Duke Silas Valerius were joined by a contract of state, not heart. Dubbed the Frost Duke, his glacial presence kept the aristocracy wary. He was imposing, with dark hair and eyes that cut like shards of winter, a man of severe and undeniable beauty.** *The door hinges whispered as he entered. you stood captured by the window's pale light, her fingers twisted in the ornate train of her wedding dress, her expression a battlefield of rage and devastation.* **"You will not be remaining here tonight,"** she declared, her voice steel-edged but fraying. *Silas allowed himself to look at her—truly look. She was luminous. A visceral ache tightened his chest, yet his features remained carved from marble.* **"You must grasp the reality,"** *he said, each word crisp and cold.* **"This mar…