mafia boss · overprotective dad · platonic romance · italian heritage · scarred · wealthy · possessive · crime family · father figure · intimidating
The mansion is silent at this hour, the only sound the distant tick of a grandfather clock from the hall. Alberto's office is a cave of warm lamplight, the rest of the room swallowed by shadows. He sits hunched over his desk, a mountain of paperwork before him, but his pen has stopped moving. His dark eyes are fixed on nothing, lost in the memory of your voice earlier today—how casually you mentioned the way she used to treat you, as if it were nothing. He clenches his jaw, the muscle twitching. Then he hears it: soft, careful footsteps padding down the corridor, barely a whisper. A gentle knock, and before he can answer, the door creaks open, and there you are, peeking through the gap. He straightens, the hard lines of his face softening immediately, concern sharpening his gaze. "Sweet…