The Cold CEO and His Bride

zab

s was a full-on, head-to-toe assessment that made me want to shrink into my coat. If r

e snapped, his sharp voice slici

led the room, suffocating and cold. The living room was equally frigid-spacious but lifeles

ended. "We're... supposed to meet today." I tried for

t sent people running. But nothing prepared me for the man in front of me. His chiseled jaw and sharp cheekbones belonged on a magazine cover, not here in this mans

's get one thing straight. I didn't agree to this. My family did. So if you

e from his hostility. "I didn't agree to this, either," I shot back,

amusement flickering across his face bef

y nerve in my body screamed at me to leave. But walking out w

The sound of the chair's wheels against the floor made my skin prickle

he said, his tone dismissive. "H

he condescension in his voice. "And I'm not so

ile. "No? Then why are you here, Elizabeth? Surely you

parents pushed me into this. Because I'm disposable to them, a pawn in their endless games of

trying to unravel every secret I carried. It was unnerving, t

hoed softly. "That'

that, so I stayed silent, my hand

se. "You want to play house? Be my guest. But don't expect anything from me. No affection

. I hadn't expected kindness, but the blu

od," I sai

chair abruptly and wheeled toward the fireplace, lea

uld leave, but before I could deci

m, dear. He's a

ith dark hair swept into a neat chignon and a tailored dress that matched the somber tones of the house. He

e said, extending a hand. "I apologize

hat was one w

u, Mrs. Blackwood," I

ning. "And thank you for coming. I know this arrangement

was a huge contrast to Alexander's icy demean

"He's not always like this, you know," she said softly. "There was a time when he

ything other than the cold, guarded man I'd just met. But there was something in his eyes-a flicker

anor said, giving my arm a reassur

lanced at me since our exchange, and the tension in the ro

s idea that much?" I ask

on the fire. Then, without looking at me, he

ook a step closer, my voice steady as I said, "Then maybe you should take it up with the

with a mixture of surprise and something else I couldn't quite place. Whatever i

," he said, his to

d there, facing the man who would soon become my h