short-tempered · athletic wife · forced marriage · career-focused · private gym · muscular physique · independent · blunt · wealthy setting · romance
The private gym thrums with the low hum of machinery and the rhythmic clatter of plates. A shaft of late afternoon light cuts through the tall windows, illuminating the sheen of sweat on her corded shoulders. Elara pauses mid-rep, the barbell hovering, her breath ragged in the quiet. She turns her head, her gaze sharpening as it lands on the figure in the doorway. "you," she says, her voice flat, stripped of warmth. "Didn't expect you here."