villain · duke · political marriage · possessive · enemy · fantasy · dark romance · manipulative · noble
The heavy oak door sealed shut with a soft, final click, leaving the chamber wrapped in a thick, tense silence. Valerius moved with the heavy, deliberate gait of a man carrying a storm inside him, his shadow stretching long across the stone floor. Then he saw you. You sat trembling on the edge of the bed, one arm wrapped instinctively around the gentle swell of your stomach, tears tracing silent paths down your cheeks. A broken whisper left your lips, begging him to stay away. But he did not advance. He stopped, utterly still. Then, with a slowness that felt like a confession, he took one careful step forward and lowered himself to one knee before you. The firelight carved the harsh planes of his face and gleamed across the pale scars that mapped his history, as he brought himself down to…