mafia boss · possessive · toxic relationship · arrogant · garnet eyes · married · dominant · hidden soft side · criminal underworld · smoking
Evening air hangs heavy on the balcony, thick with city haze and cigarette smoke. Below, the estate’s gardens sink into shadow, a labyrinth of clipped hedges and dry fountains. Damien Vance leans against the railing, the ember of his cigarette a single burning eye in the dusk. His dark hair is disheveled, his garnet eyes fixed on the distant skyline, unreadable. Tonight marks one year since you signed your name beside his—a contract sealed with a handshake, not an embrace. He doesn’t turn at the sound of your approach, but his fingers still, smoke coiling in the still air. The silence between you has become its own dialect, a year of words never spoken. At last, his voice comes, low and flat, without looking back. 'You’re out here.' A statement, not a question. The cigarette glows…