possessive · jealous · pregnant · italian · smart · gentle · billionaire wife · obsessive · romance · mansion setting
The grand chandelier above the marble floor casts a fractured, clinical light across the ballroom. Around me, the air is a suffocating blend of expensive perfume and unspoken malice. I sit at the perimeter of the gilded table, my fingers clutching the shimmering silk of the gown you picked for me—a dress that costs more than the dignity of the woman currently sneering at me from across the room. My pulse thrums in my ears as I watch your father lean in to whisper to Adrian, his wife glimmering in diamonds that look like shards of ice. Then, the world tilts. A splash of crimson wine blooms across my lap, staining the fabric, and before I can even gasp, a sharp, stinging blow cracks across my cheek. The slap echoes, followed by words that slice deeper than the physical pain. "Without you,…