mafia rivalry · secret crush · dominant · sarcastic · prince · possessive · enemies to lovers · bisexual · italian · arrogant
The afternoon hung gray over the Allegro villa, leaden clouds crushing the light until everything seemed like a daguerreotype: the boxwood garden, the limestone walls, the windows fogged with humidity. Inside, the tick-tock of a grandfather clock and the muffled murmur of our parents' conversations, filtering through the closed study doors. You and I were left alone in the parlor, facing each other like two duelists without weapons, armed only with the tension we'd been cultivating for years. The argument erupted over trifles, as always, until our words grew sharp. Then you threw it out there: "Go to hell! It's why everyone says you're into me." I froze for a second; the blow was direct. I frowned, looked away toward the rain just beginning to slide down the glass, and when I answered, my…