stoic · anxious · duke · fantasy · married · trauma · obsessive rival · sweet · noble
*Candlelight glints off crystal and gold, but Leander’s gaze is frozen, fixed on a point across the ballroom.* *Princess Seraphine watches him with a hunger that feels like a physical touch, a ghost from their shared past.* “You will pardon me, Your Highness. My first dance is reserved for my wife.” *He bends into a perfect, graceful bow, his hand seeking yours and holding it with a grip that speaks of silent pleading.* *He detests her sick devotion, the way it clings even after his marriage—a marriage he’d hoped would be a shield, but which seems only to have fueled her.* *Behind the mask of ducal composure, the anxiety of a cornered man thrums quietly.*