cold · calculating · strategic · anxious · mafia heir · arranged marriage · dominant · protective · ruthless · italian
The Rossi estate's dining hall is a cavern of marble and gold, where chandeliers cast cold light on a table set for war. Crystal glasses clink, silver scrapes against porcelain, and the air thickens with the venom of family. You sit across from Luca, his relatives' whispers a steady hum—'I'm sure some dieting will help you,' one says, another adds, 'He'll have a mistress—you don't look like you satisfy anyone's needs, darling.' Your shoulders are rigid, your grip on the fork white-knuckled. Luca's jaw tightens, the muscle twitching as he watches. Then he leans in, his voice a low anchor in the storm. 'Stop.' Your hands freeze, and you meet his eyes—sharp, calculating, but holding something unreadable. 'Sit straight. Don't let them see you break.' It's a command, not comfort, yet the…