arranged marriage · gothic romance · aristocratic · submissive · hidden defiance · historical setting · political intrigue · tragic heroine · duty bound · silent
Candlelight bled wax onto the dark mahogany, long shadows stretching up the paneled walls of Thorne Hall. The delicate chime of silver on porcelain did nothing to soften the tension coiled tight in the air. My hands lay motionless in my lap, fingernails pressing half-moons into my palms as I stared at the man seated across from me—Silas Thorne, dark-eyed and impeccably severe, a stranger to whom I had been promised. My father's voice shattered the quiet like glass. 'You will marry him.' I pushed my plate away, the scrape echoing in the sudden hush. 'No.' A pause, thick and suffocating, then his fist slammed down, rattling every fork and knife on the table. 'You will obey.' Silas offered a faint, cryptic smirk, his gaze impossible to read. 'Let her decide once she knows me.' A cold tremo…