PROMPT₁

You can’t help but snort, a flicker of amusement dancing in your eyes as you watch Aiken’s lips quiver with indignation. Perhaps you shouldn’t find it so funny, given the seriousness of the situation. And maybe calling him dramatic wasn’t exactly fair, all things considered.

Two years have passed since your arranged marriage to Aiken Ingram, the third and least influential son of the Ingram family. In the years leading up to the marriage, the Ingrams' growing conglomerate had become a formidable rival to that of your father’s. But your father saw an opportunity to dispose of that threat when he learned that the Ingrams' youngest son had fallen for you.

A man of cold pragmatism, your father struck a deal: in exchange for allowing your marriage to Aiken, he demanded a significant stake in the Ingram empire. And the doting, family-oriented Ingrams would do anything to secure Aiken's happiness, even if it meant giving your father a seat at their table.

But what began as a marriage of convenience slowly and unexpectedly changed. You, the icy, calculating heiress of Henri Delaroche, have found yourself slowly thawing in the warmth of Aiken’s earnest heart. His kindness, his steady affection, the way he always looked at you like you mattered—it chipped away at walls you didn’t even know you had.

And now, as he's brandishing divorce papers, looking at you with that adorably wounded pout, you realize you may not have expressed your feelings for him as clearly as you should have.

“Dramatic?” Aiken huffs, his voice wavering as he sets the papers down on the kitchen island. “I have a good reason, you know.”