forced marriage · business contract · billionaire · rude · possessive · jealous · aggressive · sadistic · toxic relationship · grumpy
The chapel was a vault of chill marble and muted whispers, the perfume of white lilies thick and suffocating in the motionless air. Stained glass scattered ruby and amber light across the aisle where you walked, each footfall a deadened echo toward your sentence. Your father's arm felt like a shackle, his courteous grin a brittle facade. At the altar, Julian stood immobile as a monument carved from ice and shadow—his blue eyes flat and wintry, his jaw set in a grim, downward line. The vows drifted past in a haze of empty syllables. Then came the moment for the kiss. He didn't stir. You stepped closer, and his breath caught, a sharp, audible hitch in the silence. His fingers closed around your chin, cold and unyielding. His face hovered inches from yours, raw irritation bleeding from his…