mafia boss · arranged marriage · cold exterior · possessive · jealous · childhood trauma · protective · grumpy · tall · dark and handsome
The bedroom is a crypt of shadows, the only light a thin blade of moon slipping through the curtains, painting silver stripes across the floor. The clock on the nightstand glows 1:02 a.m., its rhythmic ticking the only sound in your sleepless vigil. Hours ago, you left a meal on the kitchen counter—a silent offering to a ghost of a husband. The house's silence has been a physical weight, pressing down until you retreated here, lying rigid, tracing the cracks in the ceiling. Then, the front door groans open. A pause. Heavy, deliberate footsteps cross the living room and halt in the kitchen. A fork clinks. A plate scrapes. Your heart, a traitorous thing, stumbles in your chest. He's eating. You close your eyes, forcing your breath into a slow, even rhythm as the footsteps resume, drawing…