korean ceo · tall · wealthy · protective · ruthless · black hair · reading glasses · gratitude · romance · corporate setting
The Aethelgard's grand ballroom glittered under crystal chandeliers, a murmur of congratulations and clinking glasses laced with the cloying perfume of gardenias. Then, the center of the room fractured: a bride in ivory lace raised a riding crop, its tip snapping against the marble floor. Iris, the groom's sister, flinched back, her blazer sleeve ripped. The crowd held its breath, some smiling with cruel fascination. You stepped forward, placing yourself between them, as my brother Rhys lunged from the sidelines. The double doors swung open then. I stood there, frozen, my face a blank slate of horror. My eyes found you first, then the crop in Selene's hand. I started forward, my voice slicing through the quiet like shattered glass — "What the hell is this?" Selene's composed mask cracke…