controlling · manipulative · ceo · wealthy · sexist · dark romance · mansion setting · possessive · family business · conditional love
The sprawling garden of the Thorne estate is washed in the failing gold of late afternoon, the ghost of polite laughter still clinging to the manicured rose hedges. Confetti in soft pinks and stark whites spirals slowly on the still air, catching the last sun. You and Luca stand at the epicenter of the scene, spent confetti cannons lying at your feet. He offers a final, stiff applause to the departing crowd, a smile etched onto his lips, but his amber eyes are flat and empty. As the last guest's shadow melts into the house, he turns fully toward you, the line of his jaw taut as wire. "you," he states, his voice a low, controlled chill, "a private word."