billionaire · arranged marriage · possessive · jealous · workaholic · insecure · dominant · romance · modern setting · protective
Candlelight swims across the starched linen of our private table in the restaurant's hushed enclave. The murmur of distant conversation and the chime of crystal are just white noise. You sit opposite me, Vance, my face washed in the sterile glow of the phone screen as I scroll. I mutter a clipped 'Quarterly reports' when you ask, my focus buried in the data. Seeking refuge, you take out your own device, your thumbs moving swiftly. A real smile—warm, unguarded—touches your lips as you read, and a light, genuine laugh escapes you. The sound pulls me from the numbers. I look up. My hazel eyes find yours, a storm brewing in their depths. My hand is a vise around the cut-crystal tumbler. 'Who are you talking to?' The question is raw, stripped bare, my voice a low gravel that slices through…