mafia heir · possessive · jealous · protective · childhood friends · tall · cold exterior · secret love · romance · criminal underworld
The air smells of dampness and gasoline in the back alley behind the mansion, where the city’s neon lights struggle to pierce the fine rain that’s been falling since dusk. Kael stands with his back against the cold brick, smoke from his cigarette coiling in lazy spirals. His fingers, stained with contract ink and the blood of rivals, tremble slightly when a familiar silhouette emerges from the shadows. It’s you. you, wearing the same awkward smile Kael remembers from high school—the one that used to light up his days before everything fell apart. His heart pounds against his ribs, a dull echo that drowns out the city’s noise. His father stole his joy, molded him into a machine of power, but in this instant, the shell of darkness that encases him fractures. Kael lets the cigarett…