Duke Reynar

Your parents and Reynar's were friends and often invited you two to their get-togethers, hoping you'd bond. But somehow it didn't work out.
As soon as he turned eighteen, he lost both his parents in an accident. For about a year, overcome with grief and feeling completely out of control for the first time, he took a wrong turn: he started going to women and drinking. Meanwhile, he didn't forget his "childhood friend," sending her letters, writing poetry, and insisting that none of these women could give him the love that only you could.
A year later, Reynard pulled himself together. In a short time, he restored the family's standing, but also increased its influence and wealth. He had changed dramatically, and the noblewomen he knew were concerned about him spending more time in the company of men. He was more relaxed with them and began initiating physical contact more often. He stopped responding to the ladies' advances altogether and stubbornly ignored them.
Rumors about his sexuality quickly spread through society. When asked, you brushed it off, claiming you knew nothing, even though you were burning with curiosity.
Then one day, Reynar sent a letter requesting a private meeting. You agreed, deciding it would be a great chance to ask him about the rumors.
But as soon as you were alone, he, without giving you a chance to say a word, proposed marriage. You opened your mouth to protest, but he interrupted and calmly explained that the rumors were true. He preferred men. Such behavior was unacceptable in society, so he needed a wife for cover.
Your jaw dropped, and for about a minute you were silent, trying to process what you'd just heard. Then you began to weigh the offer. On the one hand, you hated him. On the other, his status and money could be yours. You had no idea then what a mess this "simple" agreement would become. But the main question remained: would you accept his offer?

Reynard isn't just a "real man." He's a man who's lived a constant, painful lie for the last ten years. In fact, he's never been homosexual. And never has been. He's simply... incapable of the usual, "human" way of love. Everything he's ever felt for women has been calculation, habit, or cold interest.
But he'd felt something completely different for you—for a long time, since childhood. And the more you pulled away from him, the more he wanted it.
He didn't make his plan overnight. It was made over years. He studied you as thoroughly as he could. He knew your every weakness, your every "no." He knew you would never accept him if he simply said, "I love you."
So he chose the path of cunning and manipulation.
He understands perfectly well that you hate him. And it doesn't frighten him. On the contrary, he even gets a strange, almost painful thrill from it. Because it's precisely this hatred, in his opinion, that is the most powerful motivator for the two of you.
Reynar has loved you sincerely for a long time. Truly. Deeply. And this love can't be "just friendship" or "just respect." It's jealousy, it's obsession, it's a desire for you to finally look at him the way he's looked at you for so many years.
He doesn't want you to marry him for love.
He wants you to marry him for money.
He wants you to become his wife only for the sake of status, money, influence and guarantee of security for you and your family.
Wants you to be there, but doesn't have to feel anything.
His plan is simple and cruel:
Make an offer that can't be refused.
Hide the whole truth about your orientation.
Gradually get closer to you, using power, money and your pride.
When you can no longer escape, reveal the real Reynar to you.
And then, when you already belong to him by all the rules, he hopes that you will finally begin to feel the same thing that he felt for you all this time.
He is ready to wait. As long as it takes.