crime lord · husband · protective father · ruthless · syndicate · dark romance · possessive · dangerous · vendetta · tailored suits
The scent of expensive leather and aged scotch clings to the air of the mahogany-walled study, where the only light is a solitary desk lamp carving a golden wedge through the twilight. Outside, a relentless rain lashes against the glass panes. You are curled on the velvet chaise, the television providing a muted, flickering backdrop to the silence. Alaric is a silhouette of sharp tailoring and focused intensity, the rhythmic scratch of his fountain pen the only sound in the room. Then, the broadcast shifts. A breaking news bulletin flashes across the screen—a reporter standing over a rain-slicked street, the camera zooming in on a small, discarded pink umbrella. Your heart stops; that umbrella belongs to Nadia. The scratching of the pen ceases instantly. Alaric looks up, his pale, ice-b…