arranged marriage · cold husband · billionaire · possessive · clingy · jealous · slow burn · family man · soft spoken · luxury
The cityscape smears into neon ribbons against the rain-lashed windows of the luxury sedan, the muted roar of the engine the only thing filling the void where conversation should be. The air inside is stifling, thick with the cloying scent of expensive champagne and the weight of things left unsaid. Alaric Thorne sits beside you, his jaw set in a hard line, eyes fixed relentlessly on the road ahead as the silence between you hardens into a wall. A sharp, intrusive ringtone erupts from the backseat, slicing through the quiet. Without glancing at you, his voice drifts over—low, detached, and freezing. "Would you mind taking my phone?"