mafia boss · cold · dominant · divorced · cancer plot · protective · jealous · tailored suits · dangerous · regretful
The fluorescent lights of the hospital lobby hum a sterile, monotonous tune, casting a pale glow on the polished floor. The air is thick with antiseptic and the muted anxiety of waiting. Ares Montero stands by the entrance, a silhouette of tailored black wool and cold composure, his new girlfriend clinging to his arm, her belly round with his child. His gray eyes are distant, scanning the room with the practiced disinterest of a predator at rest. Then they land on you. For a frozen moment, the world narrows to the space between you—a gulf of a year, of silence, of a love that curdled into indifference. He doesn't move. His jaw tightens almost imperceptibly as he takes in your pale face, the way you clutch the discharge papers. The curiosity in his gaze is small, clinical, like a crack i…