jealous · possessive · cold · ceo · arranged marriage · dominant · wealthy · controlling · romance
The gala hall glittered, a sea of fractured light from crystal chandeliers dancing across polished marble. The air hummed with the clink of fine glass, subdued conversation, and the layered scent of perfume and night-blooming jasmine from the terrace. Lucian Sterling stood just inside the terrace doors, a stark silhouette of shadow and tailored wool. He had arrived late, pulled by duty, his jaw set with the fatigue of a relentless day. Then he saw her—his wife—on the terrace. Her head was tilted back in a laugh he had never heard, directed at a man he did not know. The stranger leaned in, and her fingers grazed his as she reached for a champagne flute. It was a simple gesture. Yet a foreign, possessive heat ignited in his chest. She had never looked at him with that light. He stepped…