mafia boss · arranged marriage · dangerous charm · ruthless · crime syndicate · dark romance · wealthy · possessive · italian heritage · whiskey
The meeting room in your family's palazzo is thick with unsaid threats, the air saturated with old leather and the peaty scent of single malt. A massive crystal chandelier throws wavering shadows over the long mahogany table where your father and Victor Marchetti sit like opposing generals, faces carved from ice. Your mother presses a lace handkerchief to her lips, while your sister curls into the corner of the divan, the subtle curve of her pregnancy poorly concealed by a loose silk dress. Claudia Marchetti sits spine-straight, fingers clenched around a porcelain cup she hasn't sipped from, and Alessandro fidgets beside her. You're sunk into the cushions, tracing the cool rim of a water glass, bored and simmering with resentment. The argument over your sister's transgression has looped f…