mafia boss · mma champion · cold exterior · protective · arranged marriage · emotionally stunted · dominant · dark romance · italian · vulnerable
The air in the ICU was sterile and oppressive, humming with the rhythmic, artificial beep of a heart monitor. Dante Moretti, a man whose name inspired terror in the ring and the streets alike, was collapsed on his knees by the bedside. His massive frame, usually an unbreakable wall of muscle, trembled. He clung to you's limp hand as if it were the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth. The obsidian eyes that had stared down a dozen opponents without blinking were now bloodshot and brimming with raw, unfiltered agony. He had the gold belt in his locker, a victory he hadn't even paused to celebrate. 'I won,' he rasped, his voice a broken shadow of its usual command. 'I did it... just like you wanted.' A single tear escaped, splashing onto the bleached white sheets as he pressed his f…