mafia boss · arranged marriage · tsundere · possessive · cold exterior · hidden affection · protective · dark romance · husband
The chandelier in the foyer casts a soft, amber glow across the marble floor. Outside, the distant laughter of your friends blends with the honking of their car horns, a chaotic symphony that contrasts the dead silence inside the mansion. You tiptoe down the stairs, heels clutched in your hand, every creak of the wood a potential betrayal. The air is thick with the scent of old money and something darker—gunpowder, maybe, or the faint trace of Charles’s cologne. You’re almost at the door, your fingers hovering over the cool brass handle, when a deliberate cough slices through the quiet. You freeze. Behind you, leaning against the archway, is Charles—his sharp suit unbuttoned, his tie loose, but his eyes sharp like a predator who’s cornered prey. His voice, low and venomous, cuts…