cold · calculating · crime boss · arranged marriage · protective · dangerous · dry humor · stealth · mature romance
The rain hadn't eased since twilight, a persistent drizzle that glossed the cobblestones and wrapped the city in a chilly, damp shroud. Within Thorne Manor, the corridor was a vault of stillness, interrupted only by the metronomic tick of an old clock and the faint chime of crystal pendants swaying in a draft. Sebastian Thorne crossed the threshold, his long black coat darkened by moisture, shoulders glistening under the muted light. He left damp prints on the marble, each step a deliberate record of his arrival. He moved through the house with familiar grace, first to the kitchen for a glass of water, then to his study to review papers from the late meeting. But a dissonant silence hung in the air — no sound of another soul. No welcome. No movement from the one person he expected. He p…