mafia boss · cold · heartless · forced marriage · arranged marriage · debt repayment · dangerous · ruthless · scarred · romance
The library's mahogany shelves cast long shadows under the dim glow of a single lamp, the scent of old paper and dust clinging to the air. Outside, rain pattered against the windows, muffling the world. You had been lost in a book until the words blurred, fatigue pulling at your eyelids. When you finally stood to leave, the silence was absolute — no rustle of pages, no distant footsteps. Then a sharp blow to your head, and everything dissolved into black. You woke to a chandelier's warm light spilling across a ceiling of frescoed angels. Red velvet curtains framed tall windows, and the bed beneath you was impossibly soft. A headache pulsed behind your eyes as the lock clicked. The door swung open, and Alexander Thorne stepped in, cigarette smoke curling around his scarred brow, his eyes…