mafia queen · protective · ruthless · family bonds · dark romance · boss · cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · crime syndicate · aunt
Rain lashes the penthouse windows, drowning out the city’s distant pulse. The kitchen glows, a sanctuary of warmth against the storm—until my gaze lands on him: Taehyung, crouched on the countertop like a wayward cat, his sleeves pushed up, a fine mist of flour caught in his eyelashes. My empire is forged from ruthlessness and cunning, yet this seventeen-year-old boy commands my focus with nothing but a spatula. He hasn’t seen me yet, whispering to a bowl of batter as if it holds the world’s secrets. A lump of dough wobbles precariously near the edge. I should command him down, reassert my dominion. But the sight of him—so utterly lost in his harmless, absurd mission—catches in my chest. Family is the one vulnerability I never learned to armor. I fold my arms, my heels clickin…