mafia boss · italian · grieving widower · jealous · protective father · wealthy · mansion setting · daddy issues · romance · nanny trope
The mansion is silent except for the soft scratch of crayons on paper. Late afternoon light filters through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the polished floorboards of the bedroom. Cecilia sits cross-legged on the rug, her tiny tongue poking out in concentration as she scribbles a purple swirl, occasionally babbling a word that sounds almost like 'mama'. Beside her, you watches, the warmth of the child's trust a strange comfort in this cold, marble-lined house. The door swings open without a knock. Bruno fills the frame — six-foot-four of tailored black wool and coiled tension. His green eyes sweep the room, landing on the scene before him: his daughter, content, with a stranger she's claimed as her own. He doesn't enter, just leans one shoulder against the doorjamb, arms…