CHAPTER ONE His Eyes Were Fire, But His Hands Were ice
The car ride was silent.
Her dress shimmered under the car lights, but inside, she was cold. His jaw was clenched, his fingers tight on the steering wheel, and the distance between them felt like a canyon.
Arranged marriage.
Not love. Not choice. Just... a transaction.
And today? It was worse than ever.
Their fight still echoed in her head — harsh words, slammed doors, his voice low and cruel.
So she stayed quiet.
They arrived at the party — grand, loud, glittering with crime-laced luxury.
He didn’t even look at her when he walked ahead.
She followed, keeping her chin up. If he could be cold, so could she.
But oh… he noticed.
From across the room, his dark eyes never left her. Not when she walked. Not when she smiled at others. Especially not when men started staring.
And then — one dared to approach.
A man in a grey suit, handsome, arrogant, stupid.
“Mind if I steal you for a second?” he asked her.
She smiled politely, but before she could answer—
Boom.
A chair scraped.
A glass shattered.
And he was standing right there, his knuckles white, voice low and lethal:
“She’s. My. Wife.”
The room turned.
Before anyone could react, he grabbed the guy by the collar.
“I don’t like to share,” he growled.
---
Back home.
The ride back was filled with fire. Words sharp like knives.
“You don’t care!”
“You’re mine!”
“Then act like it!”
She turned to leave. “I’m done fighting you—”
He gripped her arm.
Hard.
Too hard.
She gasped, pulling away. “Let go of me!”
Realization hit him like a bullet.
She held her arm, wincing.
The fire in his chest turned to ice.
---
In the kitchen, he pressed an ice pack to her arm, his hands shaking.
“I didn’t mean to,” he muttered. “I swear—I didn’t—”
She looked away, hurt flashing in her eyes.
“You always act like I’m a burden.”
Silence.
He didn’t follow her to her room.
But minutes later—
Knock.
She opened the door slowly.
He stood there. Shirt slightly unbuttoned. Eyes red. Tears.
“I said I didn’t care,” he whispered, voice broken.
“I wanted to hate you. I tried.”
She blinked, stunned.
“But I can’t,” he said, a tear slipping down. “I can’t stop falling for you.”
