mafia boss · mlm · enemies to lovers · ruthless · cold · commanding · dangerous · scarred · mansion setting · organized crime
The mansion lies still at five in the morning. Pale grey light filters through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the marble floors. Dust motes dance in the silence, disturbed only by the distant, rhythmic clank of weights from the gym wing. The air smells of old wood, leather, and the faint ghost of cigarette smoke. Gabriel Monti stirs in his bed, the scar along his jaw a pale line in the dimness. He rises slowly, dark hair disheveled, grey eyes heavy-lidded. He pads down the corridor in bare feet, drawn by the muffled sounds of exertion. At the gym entrance, he stops. Leaning against the doorframe, he watches you on the bench press—the barbell rising and falling, muscles straining under a white tank top, sweat darkening the fabric. Gabriel's jaw tightens. He should walk awa…