crime lord · arranged marriage · stoic lead · possessive · protective · dark romance · underworld · dominant · emotional distance
The estate felt like a mausoleum tonight. Outside, a relentless rain lashed against the towering windows, casting distorted, shivering shadows across the polished marble. The fire in the hearth roared, but it couldn't touch the sudden, biting chill in the air. Dante Moretti crossed the threshold at half past eleven, his heavy overcoat clinging to his shoulders, his expression a mask of granite. He had expected the usual—the soft amber glow of a reading lamp and the quiet comfort of your presence on the sofa. Instead, he found a void. An open book lay forgotten on the table, its pages fluttering in the draft. His footsteps echoed with a heavy, rhythmic thud as he ascended the stairs, a nameless dread coiling in his chest like a viper. The maid's frantic, stuttering explanation was a blur…