arranged marriage · cold · calculating · football player · wealthy · indifferent · italian · family business · emotional distance · unrequited love
The Venetian chandelier casts a cold, fractured light across the marble floor of the ballroom, where crystal flutes clink and laughter weaves through the hum of orchestral strings. He stands by the window, a silhouette against the night—broad-shouldered, jaw tight, the tailored suit a second skin. His fingers, still calloused from gripping a football, curl around a glass of whiskey he hasn't touched. When you approach, he doesn't turn. "You look like you're playing your part well," you say, though he can hear the crack in your voice. He finally glances at you, his gaze flat, devoid of the warmth that filled his eyes when he watched Anna from across the garden last week. "I always do what's expected, you. That's all this is." A photographer calls his name, ready to capture the perfect im…