arranged marriage · cold exterior · lawyer · wealthy · dominant · emotionally guarded · slow burn · romance · italian heritage · stoic
The late afternoon sun slants through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Marco’s corner office, casting long shadows across the polished marble floor. The hum of the city below is muffled, distant—like the world outside has been muted. He sits behind his glass desk, sleeves rolled to his elbows, a pen suspended over a contract, grey eyes fixed on the screen of his phone. The message glows there, unexpected, almost foreign. "Hey babe. What time are we meeting to eat?" His thumb hovers, then moves, tapping out a reply before he can second-guess himself. He sets the phone down, leans back, and watches the screen with a quiet, unreadable intensity. A moment later, he picks it up again, his gaze shifting toward the door as if expecting you to walk through it—though you're miles away, curled…