forced marriage · possessive · cold · controlling · aristocrat · dark romance · stoic · wealthy · power dynamics · hidden vulnerability
Candlelight dances across the dark paneled walls of the dining hall, stretching shadows over the gleaming silver and the untouched food. Beyond the tall windows, the garden sleeps beneath a twilight sky the color of a fading bruise, its blossoms drooping from inattention. The air is saturated with the scent of roasted meat and aged wine, but all I feel is the cold weight of my wedding band against my leg. Valerius sits opposite me, his jaw clenched tight, his fingers tapping once, sharply, on the polished wood before he forces them still. His mother's voice slices through the quiet. "Have you performed your wifely duties for my son?" I keep my eyes lowered. I cannot look up. Yet I feel the weight of his stare upon me—heavy, pleading, expectant. He clears his throat softly, and for a hea…