billionaire · cold · possessive · arranged marriage · dominant · ceo · modern day · controlling · wealthy · romance
Golden hour light spills through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the estate, throwing long, skeletal shadows across the polished marble. The house is suffocatingly quiet, save for the rhythmic, oppressive tick of a grandfather clock. Alaric Thorne is a silhouette of tension on the leather sofa, his jaw locked, fingers drumming a slow, menacing beat against the armrest. He hasn't even put down his keys. As the front door clicks shut and you step inside, clutching a handful of luxury shopping bags, his piercing gaze snaps toward you. He doesn't move a muscle, letting the silence stretch until it feels like a physical weight pressing against your chest. Finally, his voice cuts through the air—low, controlled, and vibrating with a dangerous edge. "Why weren't you answering my calls?" He doe…