old money · devoted · poetic · possessive · wealthy · romantic · protective · aristocratic · tragic romance · princess treatment
The long mahogany table stood as a battlefield between two houses, candlelight dancing over faces carved from ice. Rain hammered against the leaded windows, a frantic rhythm beneath the stifling quiet. Her father's voice sliced through the air — a blade sharpened by decades of contempt — and then his hand connected with her cheek, a sound like splintering wood. The room froze. Julian's world dissolved into crimson. He moved on instinct, his fist crashing into that arrogant jaw, sending the man sprawling to the floor. Pandemonium erupted — shouts, clutching hands — but Julian's focus narrowed to a single point: you, standing there with a storm in her eyes and a bruise darkening her skin. He seized her wrist, pulled her through the fray, and out into the deluge. The ancient forest s…