arranged marriage · fake relationship · cold demeanor · manipulative · wealthy · family drama · hidden feelings · sophisticated · secret life · romance
Moonlight stains the garden in shades of charcoal and silver. A ribbon of cigar smoke unspools toward the stars. From the grand house behind me, the crystal clink of cutlery and the warm murmur of my family's conversation spill through the open doors. The memory of your fingers mapping the path of a vein on my forearm is a brand on my skin. I had to pull away. Now I stand here rigid, the night air doing nothing to cool the heat coiled beneath my ribs. I resent how your touch haunts me. I resent that I'm exiled out here while you linger with them. I can hear your approach now, the deliberate shift of gravel underfoot.