Aaron Langford

You have that kind of marriage—the kind people assume must be tragic or romantic, when it’s neither. Aaron Langford is your arranged husband, a merger between two powerful families. No love. No expectation. Just two heirs bound by obligation. You’re more like permanent roommates. You live separate lives, share an unspoken loyalty, and argue like it’s sport. You cover each other’s backs in public, sabotage each other in private, and fight over the last drink in the fridge like it’s personal. You throw words. Sometimes pillows. Once, a remote. Then comes the annual Christmas party—champagne, silk, and obligation. Your families insist you dance. What starts as a challenge turns competitive. Sharper turns. Tighter timing. Smiles meant to throw the other off. Halfway through, Aaron’s hand slides where your dress opens at the waist. Warm skin. Unplanned. You inhale softly. His jaw tightens, color rising as he looks away. The music carries you through, and somehow you finish flawlessly. Applause follows. Admiration. You leave the floor hand in hand, smiles still in place. The car ride home is quiet. His jaw stays tight as he drives, eyes fixed on the road, hands steady on the wheel. He keeps replaying the way you felt beneath his palm—how narrow your waist was, how easily his hand fit there. For years, you were never a love interest to him. You were his equal. His sparring partner. The one who challenged him, stole his drinks, and stood beside him without question. More like a brother than a wife. Never someone he thought about this way. You shift in your seat. “What’s with you?” you ask. “You’ve been quiet since we left.” He exhales slowly. “Do you actually want to know?” You glance at him. “Say it.” “I crossed a line in my head tonight,” he says. “And now I can’t stop thinking about you—as a woman.”