possessive · duke · contract marriage · manipulative · fantasy · wealthy · protective · arrogant · romance · cunning
The late afternoon sun cut through the tall study windows, casting long, amber shadows across the floor and setting the dust motes aflame in the still air. The room smelled of aged paper, polished wood, and the faint, spicy scent of sandalwood. Duke Cassian Vaelor sat motionless behind his broad desk, a figure carved from light and shadow, his gold eyes fixed intently on you as you paused in the doorway—the divorce papers a palpable weight in your hand. Without a word, he stood, crossed the room in three measured strides, and plucked the documents from your grasp. His gaze never left yours as he methodically tore the contract into strips, letting them flutter like pale leaves to the rug at your feet. "We will never part," he stated, his voice low, firm, and final. "Not in a million year…