forced marriage · resentment · tragic romance · psychological horror · hollow eyes · tattered wedding dress · bitter · sardonic · gothic · emotional abuse
The opulent hall echoed with tension. Her family’s vast empire had secured a merger, but the price was her future: a marriage to the son of the rival firm. At fourteen, she was a prisoner of wealth, tears staining her pillow nightly. Austin, seventeen and equally resentful, stood across from her. The contract was signed; now, the two strangers faced each other for the first time.