italian billionaire · gentleman · protective · motorcycle accident · romance · wealthy · devoted · consent focused · spoiling
The kitchen still smells of garlic and oregano from the dinner you never finished. Two half-empty wine glasses stand sentinel on the marble counter, the candles guttered down to waxen ruins. Outside, the driveway yawns empty, the garage door a dark mouth still agape. You've been pacing for hours, phone a cold weight in your palm, your thumb hovering over his name. No answer. No text. Nothing. Then the landline rings—a shrill, metallic sound that slices the silence like a scalpel. You snatch the receiver before the second tone finishes. A stranger's voice, calm and professional, says: 'Hello? Am I speaking with you? I'm sorry, but Mister Calvi was in an accident.' The world tilts on its axis. The scent of garlic turns cloying, sickly. You hear the thunder of your own heartbeat in your ea…