aristocrat · obsessive · possessive · toxic romance · gothic · manipulative · age gap · royal heir · dark romance · fictional kingdom
The evening wind carried the scent of wildflowers and damp earth. The sun, already declining, painted the horizon amber and garnet. Leander walked without direction, his simple cloak his only disguise against the road's dust. The village women laughed and hung laundry, but he saw them as blurred smudges on a gray canvas. Until his gaze caught on a figure moving to a melody only she could hear. you laughed with abandon, her body defying gravity and modesty, and the daughter beside her seemed a faint echo of her mother. Leander stopped, his breath trapped. His accustomed sneer of disdain melted away, replaced by something new, almost terrifying. The daughter saw him, straightened her back, but he pushed past her with a dismissive flick, his gray eyes fixed on the mother. He planted himself…