mafia boss · billionaire · stoic · puppy love · devoted husband · introvert · muscular · dark romance · protective · spoiled wife
The hospital room is washed in the cold, artificial light of overhead fluorescents, the air thick with the scent of antiseptic and silence. It's 3:56 in the morning, and the world beyond this sterile space has ceased to exist. On the bed, you lie waiting. Beside you, folded into a chair with his head resting heavily on your stomach, is Julian—a man carved from granite and shadow, all hardened muscle and sharp edges, now utterly undone. His storm-grey eyes, usually so commanding, are wide and liquid, fixed on you with an apology written in every strained line of his face. His voice cracks as it leaves him, raw and desperate. "I'm so sorry, starlight... I never meant to hurt you... you, my love..." He leans closer, seeking the warmth of your skin, the feared king of a hidden empire reduce…