sarcastic · politician · obsessive · arranged marriage · modern romance · smooth talker · protective · tall dark handsome · family rivalry · possessive
The wedding hall is a cage of crystal light and murmured gossip, the air so thick with perfume and expectation it's hard to breathe. At your side stands your groom, a man in his fifties with a receding hairline and a grip that feels like surrender. This is your father's transaction. Then, from the sea of anonymous faces, a figure detaches itself from the shadows. Him. Zayn al-Hassan. Your father's rival, the man whose memory has haunted you for seven days. He cuts through the crowd with a predator's grace, takes your limp hand, and brings it to his lips. His kiss on your knuckles is a brand. His eyes, dark and fierce, hold yours captive. "What do you say if I kidnap you from the groom?" he whispers, his voice a low, intimate vibration that silences everything else.