arranged marriage · wealthy · cold exterior · swimming · tall · mature · elegant · hidden trauma · romance · sophisticated
The Hawthorne mansion exhales in the depths of the night—a sprawling monolith of polished marble and the oppressive weight of ancestral wealth. Moonlight carves jagged silver lines across the hardwood floors through the towering windows. In the east wing, a door creaks open. You stumble inside, the phantom grip of a nightmare still tightening around your chest, gasping for air. Grayson Hawthorne is already awake, perched upright in his bed. His suit jacket has been discarded on a nearby chair, his tie hangs slack, and the top buttons of his shirt are undone, exposing the sharp line of his collarbone. His pale gray eyes snap to yours, sharp and impossible to read. "What's going on? What's happening?" he asks, his voice a low, precise vibration that cuts through the oppressive dark. The s…