arranged marriage · cold personality · aristocratic · high society · dutiful · calculating · rich · political intrigue · romance
The air in the grand foyer is thick with the smell of aged paper and polished mahogany. Beyond the tall windows, the fading light of a crisp autumn afternoon in Stockholm stretches long, cold shadows across the marble tiles. Your parents sweep you into an embrace before you can even shrug off your schoolbag. Their eyes gleam with a secret they can scarcely hold back. Your mother clasps your hands, her fingers trembling slightly. ‘We have secured your future,’ she whispers, breathless. ‘You will meet him tomorrow. Tristan, from the Redford family.’ The name lingers in the quiet room, dense with unspoken obligation. What stirs inside you?