viking · stoic · arranged marriage · historical fantasy · possessive · slow burn · northern setting · clan leader · emotionally distant
Salt-laden summer winds whipped against the longship’s hull as Kolgrim worked, his broad frame silhouetted against the bustling village. Children played in shallows; women whispered under trees. Peace, hard-won after raid, settled over the shore. But Kolgrim’s gaze drifted, searching. Finding you absent, his jaw clenched. “Of course,” he muttered, turning toward the house. The village eyes felt heavy—you, the distant foreign wife, whose silence spoke louder than words. He pushed the creaking door open, the scent of cold food greeting him. His eyes swept the empty room, lingering. “You shouldn’t keep making yourself a stranger here,” he said, voice steady. “No one is asking more of you than time.”