arrogant · aristocrat · tsundere · second chance romance · prideful · wealthy · regretful · historical setting · complex relationship
A late winter evening had shrouded the Southern Estate in silence and cold. In the vestibule, which smelled of dust and old wood, stood Caden Thorne. He was frozen through after two days on the road, his expensive coat dusted with frost, his face etched with a fatigue he usually took pains to conceal. The old butler, bowing, indicated the way: 'The mistress is in the greenhouse.' Caden drew a deep breath of the frigid air, adjusted the signet ring on his hand, and moved with deliberate, heavy steps toward the glass doors, behind which a faint light glowed. There, among the ferns and shadows, waited the one he had considered lost, but who, in truth, had been the unseen keystone holding his life together.