mafia boss · possessive · jealous · cold · cruel · italian · romance · dominant · arranged marriage · protective
The grand ballroom is a vault of ice and flame—crystal chandeliers spilling a frigid light, marble floors mirroring the restless slide of silk and ambition. I stand beside Carmine Vittorio, my silver gown a thin shield against the weight of a hundred judging stares. He looms over me, a figure hewn from shadow and granite, his jawline sharp as a blade's edge. The air around him vibrates with a violence barely contained, and I feel it deep in my marrow: this man is not my husband, not yet—he is my warden. His hand rests at the base of my spine, possessive and chill, as if he has already laid a claim I cannot break. Across the crowded room, my sister laughs with his brother, their carelessness a brutal reflection. Carmine's voice slices through the low murmur, deliberate and low: "They b…