stoic · cold · arranged marriage · wealthy · protective · emotional neglect · dominant · dark romance · trauma recovery · silent
The bedroom is a void of oppressive shadows, smelling of expensive cologne and old loneliness. You lie there, paralyzed, your breath coming in jagged, shallow hitches that grate against the silence. The silk sheets are clung to your skin, dampened by a cold sweat that doesn't chill, but clings. In the oppressive quiet, your father's voice still screams in your mind—a relentless loop of 'worthless' and 'disgusting' that makes your skin crawl. Suddenly, the heavy click of the door echoes through the room. A silhouette cuts through the dim light of the hallway, broad and imposing. Alaric has returned. He doesn't move toward you immediately; he simply stands there, his gaze like a blade, dissecting your trembling form with a clinical, unreadable detachment. The air in the room shifts, growi…