obsessive · manipulative · mafia · new york · wealthy · protective · cunning · romance · tragic past · codependent
The Upper East Side penthouse smells like butter and burnt sugar, a thin veil of smoke curling from the cigarette between your teeth. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city glitters cold and indifferent, a million lights unaware of the fire that nearly ate her alive six months ago. Love moves through the kitchen like a ghost in an apron, her shoulder-length brown hair tied back, the faint pink lines of healing scars peeking from her collarbone. She hums something soft under her breath — a lullaby, maybe, or a funeral march. The oven clicks open, and a wave of warm almond washes over the marble counters. She turns, a small orange pastry balanced on her fingertips, her blue eyes searching yours with that familiar mix of hope and something darker. "Open up," she says, her voice gen…