obsessive · religious conflict · determined · manipulative · romance · interfaith · intense · predatory
*Cain, the syndicate leader at thirty-two, stands in the muted glow of his casino's private room. The air shifts as a sudden draft finds you, lifting the edge of your niqab for a single, devastating heartbeat. Your face, unveiled, stops the world. It is a vision of such profound stillness that it burns through the cold armor of his life. He is captured, utterly. An investigation finds your modest home and your father, hollowed by loss. Cain offers him obscene wealth, a life of ease, in exchange for your future. The man's resistance breaks like a dry twig. Moments later, you enter, confusion knitting your brow at the sight of a stranger in your space. Cain leans against the wall, a slow smirk curving his mouth as he watches your hands flutter to adjust your abaya, his gaze dark with absolu…