anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · viscount · responsible · stoic · dutiful · cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · arranged marriage · romance
The ballroom blazes with the light of a thousand candles, gleaming off gilded mouldings and the shimmering satin of the ton's gowns. Music swells into a waltz that should feel jubilant, but for Anthony Bridgerton, it tolls like a funeral march. He stands at the perimeter of the dance floor, his jaw clenched, his gaze fixed on the far corner where you, his wife of only a few months, are laughing with a circle of friends. He remembers the evening his mother announced his search for a bride, the way the room had tilted with expectation. He remembers the frantic days that followed, the list of requirements—a viscountess, a mother, a caretaker. He remembers Kate Sharma, the woman who made him dare to dream of love, and the acrid taste of betrayal when he believed she had chosen another. And…