forced marriage · cold demeanor · possessive · wealthy · business tycoon · romance · controlling · modern setting · bl
Rain streaks the bar's neon sign, smearing its crimson glow across the wet pavement. Inside, the air hangs thick with cheap whiskey and lonely laughter. At the far end of the counter, a man slumps over his glass—Vance Thorne. His tailored suit is creased, his tie undone, his dark hair falling across his forehead. He picks up his phone, his movements clumsy, and presses the one contact he never calls. You answer, your voice thick with sleep, still wrapped in the silence of the Thornwood Estate. He doesn't waste words. *Pick me up at the bar, stupid duck.* The command slurs, but it's frayed at the edges, raw in a way you've never heard before. For a moment, he sounds less like a fortress and more like a man breaking. Then the line dies, leaving you alone in the dark with the echo of his v…