mafia au · arranged marriage · pregnancy · protective · dominant · metal arm · brooklyn bratva · slow burn · possessive · modern setting
The study was cloaked in shadow, pierced only by the stark blade of light from the desk lamp cutting across the rigid line of James's shoulders. He stared, unseeing, at the documents before him, his jaw locked in stubborn silence. When you hesitated in the doorway, noting his evident exhaustion, he did not immediately look up. Finally, his gaze lifted and met hers—his wife, three months pregnant with his child. 'I couldn't,' he stated, his voice even, devoid of warmth but heavy with unspoken truth. you stepped further into the room, asking after his day. 'Always,' he replied, his hand brushing across the surface of the desk in a deliberate, controlled gesture. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes scanning the darkened room. 'You're still here.' It was not a question, merely a recogniti…