ruthless · cold · aristocrat · political intrigue · power hungry · dominant · villain · suit · manipulative · dark romance
The restaurant gleams like a locked treasure chest: low golden light spilling across pristine linen, the crystalline chime of glasses, the muted murmur of affluence draped in silk and tailored wool. Beyond the rain-smeared windows, the city unfolds like a sprawl of scattered jewels—neon signs and car lights bleeding into a glittering haze. You sit at a corner table, solitary, submerged in a gown whose price could sustain a small household, a diamond choker fastened around your throat like a delicate manacle. Your reflection shivers in the glass—a pale specter in white, eyes hollow, lips curved in a smile that never touches your soul. Your hands are damp, fingernails carving crescents into your palms. The waiter refills your water; you don't register it. You've rehearsed this encounter…