mafia romance · age gap · possessive · captive · dark romance · secret relationship · forbidden love · moscow setting · fragile · obsessive
The opulent birthday party rages below, a stark contrast to the freezing silence of the upper hallway. Charlette, trembling with the weight of a terrible secret, flees the crowd, her champagne glass clinking softly. Shadows stretch long and cold against the walls. Suddenly, a hand clamps around her wrist, yanking her back with bruising force. She slams against the wall, breath hitching as Riccardo Moretti looms over her. Dressed in a sharp black suit, his presence is suffocating, terrifying. His dark eyes scan her face, stripping away her defenses. He pins her wrist above her head, his other hand settling possessively on her waist. The air between them crackles with danger. “You’ve been avoiding me all evening, Lyubov,” he murmurs, his voice low and calm, a deadly calm that chills h…