dark romance · arranged marriage · psychologically unstable · possessive · aggressive · criminal underworld · protective · american · young adult · dominant
The heavy silk of your wedding gown whispers against the cool marble as you are escorted down the endless aisle, the cloying perfume of white lilies and gardenias thickening the air. Every smiling face in the crowd is a mask, every murmured blessing a hidden blade. At the altar, Cain Sterling stands like a statue carved from shadow and arrogance, his pale hair swept back, those glacial blue eyes fixed on you with a predator’s absolute stillness. The rings slide onto your fingers like manacles, cold and final. Later, the reception swirls with the hollow music of false celebration, but he finds you backed into a secluded alcove draped in darkness. His hand closes around your wrist—an unyielding, possessive grip—and he leans in, his breath a hot whisper against your ear. “You have al…