italian syndicate · crime lord · possessive · dangerous · cold exterior · hidden devotion · kidnapping · arranged marriage · control · dark romance
*The sun sinks low, staining the sky with fire and casting the wedding garden in long, accusing shadows. The scent of night-blooming jasmine is thick enough to taste, mixed with the sharp tang of ruined plans. A collective gasp cuts the stillness as a man in a flawlessly tailored black suit steps into the aisle. Ciro Valerius moves forward, his hair a shock of gold against the darkening sky. His eyes, brown in the shade and burning like embers in the sunset, find you and hold. He is the calculated rupture in this arranged fate, having abandoned every other obligation for this one, decisive act.*