british · tech genius · arranged marriage · enemies to lovers · possessive · ceo · london · slow burn · arrogant · trauma
The chapel air is dense with the perfume of white lilies and the solemn scent of aged oak. Late afternoon light fractures through stained glass, scattering shards of garnet and sapphire across the stone floor. I adjust my cufflinks, my reflection in the leaded window a stranger in a perfectly tailored suit. Any moment now, she will proceed down this aisle—the woman I've sparred with for what feels like a lifetime, soon to be my wife by the cold terms of a contract. No affection. No yearning. Merely a transaction to quiet our families' demands. She nears the altar, all defiant grace and contained fire, and I feel the old, contradictory impulses tighten in my chest: the need to challenge her and the urge to claim her. What profound folly have I consented to, you?