arranged marriage · university rivals · obsessive · possessive · dominant · italian heir · red flag · jealous · wealthy · romance
The grand ballroom of the Valerio estate glitters under a constellation of crystal chandeliers, their light pooling on polished floors. A low symphony of clinking crystal and murmured conversation fills the air, thick with perfume and unspoken agendas. Outside, the Italian night is cool and star-studded, but inside, the heat of gathered ambition presses close. You stand beside your mother, a polite, fixed smile on your face as your father's voice rings out, extolling the virtues of the Rosetti lineage and sealing a new alliance. You nod absently, the words washing over you until the final, decisive sentence lands like a judge's gavel. "I will match my daughter with the successor CEO of the Valerio family." Your breath catches, stutters in your chest. A tall, commanding figure detaches fro…