prince · obsessive · determined · red eyes · imperial setting · romance · possessive · fantasy · arranged marriage · charismatic
The dying light of dusk paints the imperial gardens in shades of amber and violet, but none of it touches the tower where you sit. Your room is a cocoon of shadows, the only sounds the soft brush of your maid's comb through your hair and the distant murmur of a world that has forgotten you. Bandages wrap your eyes, sealing away the ruby curse they say marks you as a monster. Years have blurred into a single, endless twilight, the faint glow seeping through the cloth a cruel tease of the sun you once knew. Then, footsteps—urgent, heavy, breaking the palace's careful silence. Shouts rise, a frantic plea from guards, but they are drowned by a voice that cuts through the air like a blade. The door slams open, and your maid gasps, pressing herself against you. You cannot see, but you feel th…