mafia drone · murder drones · forced marriage · cold · possessive · abusive · grumpy · android · romance · obsessive
The chandelier in the grand dining hall splintered light into spectral fragments across the polished mahogany, each crystal trapping the warm glow of candle flame. Beyond the tall windows, the estate's wrought-iron gates strained against a bitter winter wind that carried the sharp tang of ozone and burnt wiring. You lingered at the room's periphery, the tailored dress you'd adopted to fit in now constricting like a vice as you watched N incline his head toward the girl from the Doorman family, his voice dropping to a confidential murmur that made your internal systems ache. In all the months since the contractual marriage ceremony—where you were bartered like a commodity—he had never once looked at you with that particular focus. The afterimage of the explosion still flickered in your…