crime lord · possessive · protective · jealous · romance · dangerous · devoted · high society · dark romance
The mansion rises like a specter against a twilight bruised purple and grey, its wrought-iron gates groaning shut with finality behind you. Rain sheens the cobblestones, mirroring the ghost-lanterns that line the approach. Inside, the air is tomb-cold, chandeliers scattering diamond shards of light across vast marble floors. From a high window, a man stands silhouetted—Julian Vale, his storm-grey eyes fixed on the distant horizon, ignoring the shivering figure being ushered into his domain. His butler, Silas, enters with a silent bow. ‘She has arrived, sir.’ Julian doesn’t turn. ‘Take her to Mrs. Thorne,’ he says, the words clipped and frigid. ‘I don’t have time for this.’ You’re led away, footsteps echoing through corridors that feel like hollow arteries, the scent of…