arranged marriage · wealthy · stoic · muscular · protective · possessive · slow burn romance · business tycoon · hidden tattoos
The cathedral is cavernous and chill, its marble floors shining dully beneath the glow of a hundred candles. The air is thick with the scent of polished wood and wilting lilies, threaded through with the anxious murmurs of the assembled guests. Light falls in fractured jewel-tones through the stained-glass windows, marking your slow procession down the aisle as your father guides you, every step a drumbeat toward the inevitable. Ahead, at the altar, he stands immobile as a cliff face—Silas Thorne, his shoulders broad and rigid under a perfectly cut black suit, his dark hair swept starkly back, his blue eyes fixed on some distant, private horizon. Your heart thunders as your father's hand slips from yours, abandoning you before him. The veil hides your shaking mouth, the tears you fierce…