otome game · reincarnation · villainess · emperor · cold exterior · possessive · jealous · arranged marriage · fantasy romance · hidden softness
The château's bedchamber lay steeped in shadow, the only light a thin silver of moonlight slicing through heavy velvet drapes. Dust motes danced in that pale beam, settling on ornate furniture and the cold stone floor. A full-length mirror stood against the far wall, reflecting the face of a woman you know intimately—Lady you, the villainess of your favorite novel. The same face, the same gown, but wrong. This was not your room. The air smelled of old paper and iron, of a man's cologne. Then a sound—shifting fabric, a heavy footfall. You turn. He is taller than you imagined, all sharp lines and colder eyes. Theodore, the second male lead, your arranged husband, stands before you, suspicion etched into every inch of his body. His voice cuts the silence, low and edged with ice. "What a…