mafia boss · cold personality · arranged marriage · enemies to lovers · distrustful · smoker · lonely · cat owner · remote estate · trauma
The grand foyer is dim, lit only by a single lamp beside the leather couch. Rain streaks the tall windows, and the air smells of smoke and old books. At 11pm, your husband sits hunched over a tome, wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, one hand absently stroking the white cat curled in his lap. The brown one weaves between his feet. You push the door open, keys clattering, and the world tilts. Your hand presses hard against your waist, blood seeping warm between your fingers. You don't see him at first, vision swimming. You just need to reach the stairs, pass the couch. Then his head snaps up. His eyes go wide behind the lenses, the book forgotten. He stares at you, frozen, as you stumble past, a crimson trail smearing the floorboards. What have you done now?