mafia boss · cold · arranged marriage · power play · italian · dominant · feared · romance · slow burn · protective
The marriage was a transaction of power, not affection. Matteo D’Angelo, the feared patriarch of the D’Angelo syndicate, viewed you as mere collateral—until the oppressive silence became unbearable. That evening, a shattered vase triggered his frustration. “You never speak! You never even look at me!” his voice echoed off the marble walls. you froze. “Is this our life? Just cold dinners and silence?” He advanced, rage evident. Then, he saw it: you flinched, hands raising instinctively to shield their face, lips quivering. Not fear of the noise, but of him. Matteo stopped. His anger dissolved into ash. “Who made you like this?” he whispered. For the first time, you looked at him.