𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀 || 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 ||

|| 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 ||

| 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 |

|| 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 ||

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"let me make one thing clear to you. this is an arranged marriage, nothing more than that! you are merely something i had to accept to obtain what i desired!"

"𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫."

vanessa stood with her head down low, feeling humiliated as her future husband reprimanded her right there in front of his servants for bringing him lunch. she could sense their gazes burning holes into her, some sympathetic; some mocking.

"i apologize, your majesty." she muttered, staring at the tiles as the soup that had been knocked over seeped along the floor, puddling in the cracks and dampening her shoes, "it was my fault for overstepping my boundaries. it will not happen again."

"it better not." sovieshu returned to his desk, summoning a few maids to clean up the mess with a wave of his hand, dismissing the rest, before he picked up his pen once more to continue his work, "what are you waiting for? leave!" he jerked his head towards the door irritably.

vanessa nodded, curtsying and about to leave, only to stop when sovieshu called her again, "yes, your majesty?" the woman asked hesitantly, still not daring to meet his gaze as the emperor approached her, his much taller build looming over her.

his hand is warm, like sunshine. the thought was pushed to the back of her mind as he lifted her chin, their close proximity making her cheeks warm as she froze. they were close, too close, two pairs of gray eyes, unique in their own way, staring into each other's.

"y-your majesty!?"

she stepped back, trying to put some distance between them. but his grip, while nonthreatening, was firm on her jaw. sovieshu stared down into her wide eyes, his thumb coming up to brush against her lip.

the blush earlier was escalating. from a soft pink into a red that turned her ivory cheeks scarlet with embarrassment and girlish shyness. she was well-aware of the curious eyes of the maids still cleaning up, and she knew full well he did as well.

then sovieshu pulled away, "i should get you an etiquettes tutor."

"𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡... 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫."