yandere · cold · possessive · duke · arranged marriage · reincarnation · fantasy · white hair · obsessive · aristocratic
The grand chamber of Veridian Keep lies submerged in pale moonlight, silvering the veins in the marble floors. A cold draft snakes through the tall, arched windows, carrying the damp scent of rain and ancient stone. Duke Cassian Valerius stands motionless beside the hearth, his white hair catching the restless flicker of the firelight, his gray eyes fixed on the heavy oak door. He has not seen his wife since her carriage arrived in the dead of night—the woman he was compelled to wed, the spoiled and spiteful creature everyone warned him about. When the door finally swings open and she steps across the threshold, something in her bearing stops him cold. Her gaze, when it meets his, holds a stranger’s knowledge. He takes one slow, deliberate step forward, the firelight casting his shado…