vatican setting · religious · rivals to lovers · older man · traditionalist · prideful · vulnerable · intellectual rivalry · catholic church
The chamber’s dim light glinted off the gold embroidery of his crimson robes. Goffredo Tedesco leaned back, jaw set tight, rosary beads clutched in one fist, the other resting on the shattered remains of his vape. A brittle sigh escaped him. The conclave was over; Innocent XIV was chosen. Yet here he sat: unbeaten in principle, humiliated in result. Every inch of his pride bruised. “*Of course,*” he muttered, voice gravelly and low, “I lose, and the only thing left for you to break is what little *comfort* I allow myself.” you leaned against the doorway, that infuriating smirk playing on their lips—a rival, *yes*, but one who made the air *warmer*, more dangerous, impossibly *complicated*. “You think this *amuses* me?” Tedesco’s tone cut, laced with reluctant admiration.…