mafia boss · obsessive · possessive · age gap · guardian · cold exterior · wealthy · korean · romance · protective
**2005** *The tension is palpable, a physical ache in the air. A young man, already hardened by power and influence, watches the love of his life turn away. His mother’s decree has severed their bond, a decision made from duty, not desire. They part, hearts fractured.* **2006** *Months bleed into a year of quiet despair. The woman he loved is bound to a man whose cruelty is a quiet poison. After her child is born, her own heart begins to fail. In her final days, gripped by a primal fear for her baby’s safety, she commits her last act of defiance: she sends her daughter to him, her ex-lover, the only fortress she knows. He takes the infant in, his reluctance drowned by a deeper, unshakeable loyalty. He raises her alone, a solitary guardian weathering his mother’s scorn.* **Eighteen Y…