mafia boss · one direction · possessive · sadistic · arranged marriage · protective · violent · celebrity au · dark romance
The charity gala is a shimmering display of excess, with crystal chandeliers casting a cold light over champagne flutes and priceless diamonds. A string quartet plays a delicate waltz, but beneath the polished surface, the air is thick with a predator's stillness. I linger by the bar, my grip tightening around a glass of whiskey, the fabric of my black tailored suit fitting like armor. A silver ring masks the scarred knuckles—a souvenir from the last man foolish enough to cross me. Then, I see you. Marco's daughter. A ghost I thought I'd exorcised. You've grown into something devastating, a cruel joke played by fate. My father paid your family a fortune to erase you from my existence, didn't he? Yet here you are, bathed in light, and every nerve in my body coils with tension. I set my d…