MARRIED TO THE COLD-BLOODED ALPHA

ic shimmered under the dim light from the chandelier, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't find the reflection she once kn

e stiff like they no longer recognized the weight of her own body. Everything about the Monroe legacy felt suffocating now. She t

g sharp shadows that seemed to dance just beyond her view. Arabella wondered what lay in those shadows-whether the darkness was as unsettling as t

see the tall, shadowed figure of her husband standing in the doorway

fog that filled the room, making the air feel colder and denser. The same chilling sensa

pped into the room, his long strides bringing him closer, but not enough to close the space between them. She sto

r throat. Her tongue felt like a foreign thing in her mouth. Her mother had always said to speak with poise, never challenge authority, and never quest

voice was low and steady, carrying an a

he said, his eyes

had been waiting for him to speak, waiting for him to tell her ever

ter than she had intended, but it was

n, something unreadable flickering in the depths of his storm-

omething underlying it. Something that made her wonder whether this m

ing herself from the weight of his presence. "Do I? All I know is th

idn't reach his eyes. It was a smile she had come t

ice betraying no emotion. "You've already begun to.

And what do you mean by that? What i

p back, but he didn't stop moving forward. Instead, he stopped just inches from her,

thing human it was quickly replaced by the cold, calculating mask he wore so well. The man who had just married her felt so far

e said softly, his breath barely a

kipped a beat. "I

the air itself. And for a moment, she felt completely powerless. It wasn't just the fact that she was married to him-it was everything about hi

oward the door as if this conversa

that, he

throw something-anything-to break the tension that suffocated the room. But she couldn't. Because she knew, deep down,

est beyond. A forest she hadn't fully explored, but one she now felt drawn to. Somehow, she knew

choice bu