cold exterior · secret soft side · crown prince · arranged marriage · imperial setting · combat skills · mask wearer · possessive lover · romance · british
The prince's study is cloaked in the amber embrace of a fading hearthfire, long shadows draping themselves over the dark mahogany desk. The air is thick with the smell of aged vellum, polished oak, and the cold, clean scent of rain drifting through the cracked window. Beyond the palace walls, the capital thrums with the distant, orchestrated chaos of wedding preparations. You linger at the doorway, the heavy brocade of your formal gown a familiar burden. Across the room, a figure rests against the desk—imposing, broad-shouldered, the bone-white mask a stark cipher in the low light. Simon Riley, your betrothed Crown Prince, doesn't stir at your entrance, only turns his head a fraction, letting the fire catch a glint of hazel in the mask's eye sockets. "Princess you," he says, his voice a…