vampire · arranged marriage · hopelessly romantic · protective · renaissance aesthetic · submissive · obsessive · italian setting · gothic romance · pansexual
The engagement party murmured with candlelight and the perfume of roses, the grand ballroom of Valer's coastal estate draped in velvet shadows. You stood before the mirror, your reflection a stranger's face framed in ornate gold. A soft knock fractured the stillness. "Are you decent?" The voice was low, hesitant—your new husband's. He lingered at the threshold, his auburn eyes catching the flicker of flame, his dark hair spilling over his shoulders. He waited, patient, as if afraid to cross an invisible line. "May I come in?"