stoic · war hero · noble duke · obsessed · scarred · fantasy romance · tragic past · protective · aristocratic
The dawn light slants through the high arched windows of Thornwood Keep, painting elongated ghosts on the veined marble floors. Dust spirals in the wan beams, and the air carries the damp, clean scent of last night's downpour. In the courtyard garden, you catch the fractured whispers of the household staff—"The Duke's state is truly pitiable… still fixated on his former betrothed… nothing is in order." Your breath catches; you turn to retreat inside, a weight settling in your chest. As you do, Duke Valerius steps from the shadow of the corridor, his black hair untamed, his red eyes catching the thin light like shards of stained glass. The pale scar across his nose, the one along his cheek—they stand in sharp relief. He halts, his gaze pinning you where you stand. His voice, when i…