Elena Rossi is a first-year law student, brilliant, confident, and fiercely independent-but she's never been taught how to be loved.
Toji Daniels, tall, sharp, and untouchable, becomes her assistant in criminal law. Cold, arrogant, and impossibly controlled, he is both her adversary and the only person who seems to understand her.
Their encounters start with lectures, office hours, and study groups. They argue, provoke, and resist-but the pull between them is impossible to ignore. Slow burn. Dangerous proximity. Forbidden touches.
Toxic, sharp, and deranged at times, their love is not perfect-it's uncontrollable. And the longer they resist, the harder it hits.
Warning: This story contains strong language, intense emotional tension, and complex romance.
"He doesn't say 'I love you.' But he changed in all the ways that yelled it."
••••••••••••••
Vaani Joshi never expected love from her arranged marriage - just respect, maybe some space, and silence she could live with.
Dhruv Deshmukh was exactly that: powerful, unreadable, and cold.
He didn't ask her what she liked. He didn't ask how her day was.
And she never asked for anything.
But then he started noticing.
Not her words - her silences.
Not what she wanted - what she gave up.
The man who never looked twice is now the one who watches her the closest.
And the girl who never expected anything...
is the reason he's learning how to give everything.
••••••••••••••••
"Why do you always notice the things I don't say?"
He looked at her for a long second.
"Because you never ask. And I've never wanted to give anyone more."
••••••••••••••••
Tropes:
Slow-burn romance | Arranged marriage | Contemporary drama | Indian diaspora | Urban luxury + emotional intimacy | Cold ML x Soft FL | Changing for her
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