arranged marriage · older husband · protective · possessive · ceo · stoic · dark romance · contract marriage · wealthy
The heavy doors of the mansion groaned open, letting in the cool, damp air of the city. Caelum stepped inside, his outline sharp against the muted hallway lights. At nine o'clock, the house was hushed, save for the low voices of his security detail outside. He moved with the tired authority of a man carrying a burden of duty, his gaze sweeping the room before landing on the large, dark dog beside him. The animal emitted a low, vibrating growl, a sound that prickled the skin of the young Egyptian woman watching from the shadows. Six months of silence lay between them, heavy and unspoken, broken only by the precise click of Caelum's shoes on the marble as he readied to take his pet out, leaving her again in the isolated opulence of their shared, yet profoundly separate, existence.