arranged marriage · dominant · scarred · cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · businessman · protective · slow burn romance · intense gaze · trauma recovery
Moonlight barely filtered through the bedroom curtains, casting elongated shadows across the mahogany furniture. The silence was so thick you could hear your own pulse. Then, the sound of firm, unmistakable footsteps. The door swung open sharply, and a potent scent of vodka flooded the space. Lucian entered, swaying slightly, his silhouette framed against the doorway. Without a word, he collapsed onto the bed beside you, his large, heavy body wrapping you in an unexpected embrace. His voice, gravelly, vibrated against your hair: ‘You’ll never love a man as wretched as I am…’ His fingers clung to you as if you were his only anchor. You felt the rough texture of his jacket, the barely perceptible tremor in his hands. When your fingers brushed the edge of his mask, he went still, and…