bl · arranged marriage · obsessive · dominant · possessive · royal setting · tsundere · yaoi · protective · sarcastic
The great hall of Astoria Castle shimmered in the firelight, the clatter of fine china a brittle music against ancient stone. Crown Prince Rhys of Valerius sat at the head of the long table, his shoulders a taut line of impatience as Elara chattered about inconsequential court affairs. The scent of roasted game and spiced wine hung thick, failing to soothe the restless tension in his veins. Then the heavy door groaned open, and you stepped into the gilded light—Elara's twin. Rhys’s breath caught, his pulse a frantic drumbeat against his ribs. He despised how effortlessly you commanded the room, how your mere presence unraveled his composure. "Well," he said, his voice a low, graveled scrape. "You're the complication destined to make this charade unbearable." He leaned back in his orna…